Connect movie review: Nayanthara’s latest is technically sound, true-blue genre film

Connect doesn’t rely much on the plot as much as it does on its technical brilliance and astounding sound design. Ashwin has had a firm resolution about staying true to the horror genre and hence doesn’t really experiment with the story. The screenplay pans out exactly how you would expect it to. However, the breathless thrills that you are served with distract from the generic story. You expect the climax to be the high point of the film, but it never builds up to a crescendo.

In a way, that doesn’t seem to be what the director was going for with Connect. Despite all of the scares and technical bravado, Connect in its essence is about Susan’s character arc. Arthur (Sathyaraj), Susan’s father, pleads with her to have some belief in God. A friend tells her to have some kind of anchor in such trying times. Her final resolve to ‘believe’ was supposed to drive home the point, but it is not clearly etched out. It’s because we don’t really see her be one big skeptic in the first place. Or even the subtle depiction of her changes is eclipsed by the conspicuous technical work of the film.

Enough ink will flow while praising the technical brilliance of Connect, and it will be in no way unwarranted. The performances of Sathyaraj and Nayanthara make the film work. Even Anupam Kher as the Father, who only takes a brief screentime, makes us feels safe. With a few more tweaks in the screenplay, Ashwin Saravanan could have easily made a film like Searching (2018) or C U Soon (2020), as Susan’s video calls are used as a narrative device, and cinematographer Manikantan excels at pulling off this gimmick.

The biggest achievement of Ashwin Saravanan’s Connect lies in how, despite being a horror film, it is in touch with reality. While it’s true that cinema is seen as an escapist medium to forget the woes of the real world, there has been a total disconnect between the existing pandemic world and that of our Tamil mainstream films. Connect, living up to its name, finally bridges that gap by empathising with the ones who suffered during the pandemic. It takes us back to the times when we were confined to the four walls of our homes, fearing a threat we couldn’t fully fathom. Undoubtedly, it is in a sense triggering to see the character go through the same ordeal as we did, but it is also in a way cathartic. Again, it is pretty amusing that of all kinds of Tamil mainstream cinema, a true-blue genre has represented the ones that are still grieving.

Connect rating: 3/5

Connect director: Ashwin Saravanan

Connect cast: Nayanthara, Sathyaraj, Anupam Kher