Captain Miller review: A gripping, revolutionary tale with Tarantinoesque shades
In Captain Miller, director Arun Matheswaran emerges as a master storyteller, while Dhanush gives his heart and soul to fhe film
Director Arun Matheshwaran, who has made back-to-back aesthetically shot yet extremely violent revenge action dramas like Saani Kaayidham and Rocky with a wafer-thin storyline, is back with Captain Miller.
This film, set in the pre-Independence era, however, is nothing short of being a cinematic masterpiece. It is an extremely layered film centered around themes like social injustice and the fight for freedom, coupled with some world-class filmmaking and masterclass performance by Dhanush. The actor seems to have given his heart and soul to the film!
Captain Miller tells the story of an ordinary youngster Anal Eesan, who slowly turns into an unapologetic rebel and leader after undergoing a lot of hardships, challenges, and pain. Life becomes hell for Eesan after his mother dies, he is disowned by his village for committing a crime while he was in the British army, and his first love too rapidly falls through. But there comes a situation when villagers need him to protect them and to give them freedom. More than freedom, he needs to give them back their basic rights and respect!
Masterful storytelling
In Matheshwaran's first two films, the plot was weak and emotions also took a backseat. But the director had shown a lot of promise with his visual aesthetics and action pieces. In Captain Miller, however, Matheswaran emerges as a master storyteller, the politics of the film and the emotions hit you hard. In this film, he has absolute control over his craft by extracting the best from his actors, music composer, cinematographer, action choreographer, production designer and the entire team.
The scene where the entire village enters the temple could probably become one of the most discussed scenes in South cinema in years to come. The way he conveys the feeling of villagers as they slowly get nearer to the God elevates the film to another level. Dhanush excels as both as an actor and star. He also gets his mass hero scenes but he is also able to score with the scenes that demand the incredible actor inside him to come out. When he was young and naive, there is an innocence in Dhanush’s voice but when he becomes a rebel, his voice sounds agitated and powerful. Such nuances in his acting only make him one of the best performers in India.
The women characters
The women characters are also handled very well. Priyanka Mohan plays a progressive woman who rebels against caste oppression, and her speech to Dhanush and Jayaprakash in the climax is something that will be etched in our minds for a long time. Nivedita Sathish’s character is also very strong, and the manner in which she kills an enemy with a hairpin is chilling in a Tarantinoesque way. Sundeep Kishan and Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar’s cameos in the climax gives you goosebumps.
Kudos to cinematographer Siddharth Nuni, who literally transports viewers to the battleground and the village environment portrayed in the film. GV Prakash’s background score is stunning that he elevates almost all the scenes in the film with his music. His music makes you cry, clap and revel in cinematic brilliance.
Dhilip Subbarayan’s action choreography in the climax is on par with Hollywood standards, the guns and machines look very real and powerful on the big screen.
Overall, Captain Miller’s storyline may not be unusual and seem similar to that of a Sholay or even Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. But the film stands tall on its own as an original masterpiece. Truly, Arun Matheshwaran's amazing craftmanship and Dhanush's impeccable performance seem to have delivered a big winner to kick-start 2024 with a bang.