Naming the film Ramante Eden Thottam must have been a little trick played by the writer-director Ranjith Shankar on the audience to mislead them, for neither Raman (Kunchakko Boban), nor his ‘Eden garden’ is at the centre of the film. Instead, it is Malini (Anu Sithara), a married woman, who arrives in Eden one day, with her husband Elvis (Joju George) and child and their family friends on a short vacation.
She is ‘happy’ with her life, as she tells Raman initially, in an unconvincing tone, as if she herself does not believe in what she just said. She had, till she arrived at Eden, played her part of being the obedient unquestioning wife, hiding her inherent talents and taking care not to upset the apple cart of patriarchy. Something snaps in her and some new windows open in her mind when she encounters Raman, who has a very unique job of planting small forests within cities filled with glass buildings.
Ranjith Shankar, known for injecting social messages in his films and not always being successful with it, moves into relationship drama territory with Ramante Eden Thottam . He seems to radiate a sort of new-found comfort in that space, which reflects in how the screenplay flows with minor glitches. A surprise comes in the form of Joju, who plays a womanising film producer facing a financial crisis. Known for his comic cameo roles, here he plays a full-length serious character with lot of negative shades.
Part of the film’s theme of marital troubles is similar to the recent Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol , but here the handling is more subtle and effective. There are of course those passages filled with cliches, overbearing background music and irrelevant diversions. Ramesh Pisharody’s one-liners enliven the mood in the initial dull parts.
Ranjith Shankar does not waste his foray into a new territory, delivering a mature take on relationships, the conclusion of which might not be palatable to a conservative audience.
