Cast: Manikandan, Meetha Raghunath, Ramesh Thilak, Raichal Rebecca, Balaji Sakthivel
Music: Sean Roldan
Direction: Vinayak Chandrasekaran
In Tamil cinema, we rarely get boy-next door characters as protagonists, especially in a slice of life genre. Malayalam cinema has been the frontrunner in this genre and it’s heartening to see Tamil cinema coming up with films in this genre. Last year we got Thiruchitrambalam and now Good Night.
Mohan (Manikandan) is suffering from sleep apnea, the result of which he snores aloud during his sleep. The film in fact starts with the sounds of his snores. He is ridiculed by his friends and neighbours, gets a nickname as ‘Motor Mohan’ and even loses a potential relationship. The film revolves around his struggles and his relationship with Anu (Meetha Raghunath).
Mohan is a vulnerable character with a problem that he cannot control. Its refreshing to see such a character in the times where we see macho men in action mode in most of the films. The scene right before the intermission with Ramesh (Ramesh Thilak), his brother-in-law is such a beautiful one, with Mohan crying and sharing his troubles with another male character. The bond between these two characters was fantastic. Be it comedy scenes or emotional scenes, their chemistry felt so real and heart-warming.
Though the film revolves around Mohan, there are other characters which are well-written. Take Anu, who is called unlucky due to some unfortunate past events. Or take Mohan’s sister, Maha (Raichal Rebecca), is constantly pressured by people for a baby. These supporting characters also face a similar scenario to the protagonist, society judging them for something out of their control. As much as it’s great to see other good characters, not every character gets a good character arc. Anu’s character arc doesn’t get a closure, as the conflicts in the second half revolve around Mohan’s issue.
The only issue I had with the film was their conflicting being repetitive. Other than that, Vinayak had some smart writing like the climax, couples joining together at the airport. It’s a cliche sequence popularized by Woody Allen in his 1979 film ‘Manhattan’. Since then, the airport sequence is used in many films including Tamil films. Here, Vinayak brilliantly sets us up for the climax before in a dinner sequence and gives us a hilarious sequence involving the couple and airport. The film is entertaining and the film is a big win for showing relatable men vulnerable on screen.
Verdict: A wonderful slice of life genre film that show
Cinephile's Amigo 
Leave a comment