Philips and The Monkey Pen Review

The young blood in Mollywood is consistently creating magic on screens with their blend of imagination and wit through their new films. The latest to add to the list of the best's this year is `Philips and the Monkey Pen' coming form first time filmmakers Rojin Thomas and Shanil  Muhammed . Casting an impressive spell over  its viewers, the movie  blends  perfectly to its settings, striking a chord with the viewer and displaying the innate passion with which it is made.

The film is all about Ryan Philip, a smart, naughty and mischievous guy of fifth standard who lives with his dad Philips, (Jayasurya) and mom Sameera (Remya Nambeeshan) who had an intercaste marriage, but living a happy life in a picturesque seaside hilltop. Ryan and his gang of friends , Innocent, Raman and Jahangeer fears mathematics.Their teacher Padmendran(Vijay Babu) always ridiculed and punished them harshly for not doing homework. Having a horrid tale of peeing in his shorts when confronted with a problem in maths while in the first grade, Ryan still fear that dreary happening to repeat  again if asked to do another in public.   Neither his mom nor his dad gave Ryan pressure to study well. Still it became a need for Ryan to do his homework and evolve a charmer in class.

It was at this point, Ryan gets the monkey pen with magical powers from his grandfather (Joy Mather) an old sailor who had a big collection of antiques. Ryan suddenly starts to feel the magic, that helps him to complete the home work. With the aid of this  interesting piece that  every child could start dreaming about to help them in their studies, `Philips and the Monkey pen' is an engaging ride with more splendid assignments in store  thereafter, supported by the instinctive honesty of the young boys that could  easily soften your heart and propel you back to  those wonderful childhood days of yore.

The meticulous care in portraying the subtle nuances of childhood is definitely going to be  rewarded in cinema halls , as you realize that the intermittent applause from the audience is not for a superstar film. Though a little long and is a little unhurried at 140 minutes , the fond memories of having rushed into a good old class definitely makes you sit through with elaan. Yes, the watchful eyes of the class monitor, the eagerness with which you wait for the answer sheets after valuation waiting to announce the marks, and all the little other mischief's of the age lay bare with simmering life on screen here.

Apart from the sincerity and messages of goodness that it sparkles, this Monkeypen stands out for its lead performers. Sanoop Santhosh has the most effective debut in the recent times playing Ryan who is sure to be a part of your heart for long. Gourav Menon, Diya and every other child artists in the gangs appear  realistic with even support from the seniors like Jayasuriya, Ramya Nambeeshan, Vijay Babu, Innocent , Mukesh and Joy Mathew. Kudos to the director duo for extracting the natural performances  from the kid artists.

The camera wielded by Neil D Cunha is excellent and is the second best highlight after the lead actor. With interestingly laiden shots, it shows its curiosity at nature as a whole and gives the necessary glossy feel to the narratives .But the editor could have fastened the proceedings with more sharper cuts. Rahul Subrahmanyam's chords show an affinity towards the symphony orchestration without showing overt classicism. A couple of his songs are real chart toppers while the rest gels well with the mood of the movie.

With all it's heart at the right place, this Monkey pen could be a real gift that you can offer you  child at home. Prescribe it to them, before they starts to demand for it in some days. Yes, this movie can be really infectious.Thankyou Shanil and Rojin for the splendid work  and of course, a really good movie ..

Rating - 7/10