Mubi Monday: The Lunchbox (2013)

Most rom-coms or romantic dramas feature some important mistake or miscommunication. This is often vital in connecting the leads, as is the case here. The Lunchbox is based around a mix-up caused by the dabbawalas (a Mumbai food delivery system that collects lunches from homes to deliver to people at their workplace - like a personalised UberEats), and it's arguably as plausible and effective as any other plot device I have seen used in this genre.

Ila (Nimrat Kaur) is a young housewife hoping to regain the attention of her husband (Rajeev, played by Nakul Vaid) by reaching his heart via his stomach. She hopes to do this by making some truly delicious lunches, infused with great taste and heaped spoonfuls of love (the latter being metaphorical, of course). Unfortunately, the lunches end up going to Saajan (Irrfan Khan) instead. Saajan is heading towards his retirement, but not before he has to train his replacement, Aslam (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Letters are soon being exchanged, starting a proper connection between Ila and Saajan that will deepen over time, and at least one cold soul starts to thaw as they are forced to interact more with some people who help to show some of the many pleasures that life can still offer.

I'm not familiar with the work of writer-director Ritesh Batra, nor would I call myself anywhere near familiar with the varied and rich selection of films made in India (although I have seen some great ones over the past few years, and need to start getting better at taking note of directors and stars), but The Lunchbox sounded like something I might be entertained by. I was right. I think there are one or two contrivances used to maintain the premise throughout, but the central characters are so easy to root for that you soon stop thinking of any flaws in the logic to focus on the hope that circumstances can bring the two together for more than just lunchbox letters.

Considering his role as the elderly, and wiser, figure, I assume that Khan is someone already well-known to those who have enjoyed far more Hindi-language movies than myself. He's quite wonderful in his role, whether being obstinate and abrupt with people or finally allowing for some joy in his life. Kaur is a wonderful co-star, especially while she gets to be the heart and warmth of the movie (assisted in a number of amusing scenes by the disembodied voice of "Auntie", a superb vocal performance from Bharati Achrekar) as she looks to make some positive changes in her life. Siddiqui is also very good, delivering a performance that avoids him being too much of an irritation even as Khan's character views him that way. Vaid is suitably easy to view dispassionately, and Lillete Dubey, Denzil Smith, and Shruti Bapna all do their bit in shaping the paths of our leads.

Although it's a romantic drama, The Lunchbox is also a look at characters who maybe just need advice and support more than they need a relationship. I didn't watch this and automatically think that this man and woman had what was needed to complete one another, but that didn't have me any less invested in their journey. Some may be a bit disappointed by the third act. I thought it was exactly how it should be. Lovely stuff, and I highly recommend it to everyone. 

9/10

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Inferno (2016)

Despite knowing how they are generally viewed by many other people, I am a BIG fan of the previous movies featuring the character of Robert Langdon. Having read most of the books written by Dan Brown, I knew the way he created the contrivances and characters, and the movies managed to move along at a brisk enough pace to make me forget the increasing incredulity of the set-pieces (almost). I was looking forward to Inferno, remembering the high stakes and the tense final act.

Sadly, this is the weakest of the cinematic trilogy, and it's easy to see why. The source material just isn't as easy to translate into cinematic entertainment, and there's also the small problem of each subsequent film highlighting just how many times Brown reaches for the same bag of tricks. Director Ron Howard cannot do much while tied to the novel, and writer David Koepp doesn't want to take any risks in his adaptation of the work.

Hanks returns once again to play the hero, who this time starts things by waking up in an Italian hospital with what seems to be a very bad case of amnesia. He barely has time to try and remember who he is before Dr. Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) is helping him to evade a deadly assassin. The two of them then race against the clock to hopefully stop a madman from releasing a virus that will cut the population of the entire planet in half.

It's hard to work up any enthusiasm for Inferno, it's such a mediocre and disappointing movie, especially coming after two much better films. Things start promisingly enough (there's the suicide of the madman who has already put his plan in motion, there's Langdon having a nightmarish vision of people burning to death around him), but that is all soon forgotten as the plot starts to trudge along from one weak set-piece to the next. Even the travelogue aspect isn't all that enjoyable, with the camerawork and visuals surprisingly dull throughout. How the hell do you make Venice look anything less than eye-poppingly gorgeous??

Hanks is yet again a comfortable fit in the role, and Felicity Jones is an enjoyable co-star for him, hampered by the material, but buoyed by the fact that she's Felicity Jones. Omar Sy is okay, but equally hampered by the material, and there are unmemorable supporting turns from Irrfan Khan, Sidse Babett Knudsen, and Ana Ularu. Ben Foster stands out, despite his limited screentime, thanks to his role in one or two of the most intriguing scenes.

Others might end up enjoying this more than I did. If you haven't read the books, or seen the other movies, then you may have a better viewing experience. I found it a big disappointment, especially following on from the two movies that preceded it.

4/10

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