OTT Review: Breakout – Miserable, a Patience test

BOTTOM LINE
Miserable, a Patience test

PLATFORM
ETV Win

What Is the Film About?

Maniratnam, an aspiring filmmaker with monophobia, travels to Hyderabad for a narration, but when the meeting doesn’t materialise, he has no place to stay. A mechanic Raju offers him shelter, but soon leaves for work, leaving Mani alone. Struggling with his fears and trapped inside the garage, Mani must confront monophobia and find a way to escape his isolation.

Performances

Continuing his tryst with off-beat films (like Manu, Basanthi), Raja Goutham’s quest to reinvent himself as an actor with unique roles is appreciable, but it’s high time he understands his limitations too. Breakout is a true test of a artist’s potential, for it’s centred on a single character. Simply put, he lacks the emotional range to pull this off.

Several worthy performers – from Chitram Sreenu to Ananda Chakrapani and Kireeti Damaraju – are wasted in brief roles which are devoid of a proper context. Among them, Sreenu fares marginally better. Ananda Chakrapani’s on-screen father character could’ve been impactful with sharper writing, which would’ve in turn contributed to the film’s depth.

Analysis

Concept-driven thrillers catering to a niche audience that don’t try to pander to the galleries have caught steam in Telugu cinema in the recent years and the trend has birthed a new era of filmmakers and actors – both in cinema and on OTT – with a unique creative voice. However, everything new isn’t necessarily good always and Breakout is the best proof of it.

Survival thrillers are an under-tapped genre in the industry and it takes some effort, courage to churn a 67-minute narrative mostly centred on a single role. Dongalunnaru Jagratha, Game Over are among a few films that explored the idea with reasonable success (mostly on OTT and not box office). Breakout makes an effort to be distinct but fails miserably at it.

The film is largely driven by a screenplay than a concrete story, focusing on the travails of an aspiring filmmaker who’s stuck in a garage under unusual circumstances and invites more trouble for himself due to his insecurities and fears. While locked in the garage – he loses his mobile, consumes a sedative, has strange visions and loses sight of what’s real and what isn’t.

The primary issue with Breakout is the absence of a strong emotional link that could help us understand the character’s trauma better. The backstory behind Mani’s character is very vague. In the middle of a narration that doesn’t materialise, the viewer is introduced to a character’s fear of being alone – monophobia – a trait that is expanded to a point of boredom.

There’s no context to Mani’s monophobia at all. The film loses the plot very early when it mistakes a protagonist’s fear as a medical condition. It gets stranger when he tells a childhood friend, ‘being a doctor, you must understand my situation better.’ The filmmaker Subbu Cherukuri has little clue in translating a simple idea into an engaging viewing experience.

The director fails to build any tension in the screenplay – an ingredient so integral for a survival thriller to work. Many situations that Mani encounters within the garage aren’t exactly situational. It is an ordeal to survive a one-hour film that has very little value to offer in terms of a cinematic experience, be it the premise, performances or execution.

Beyond the logical loophole, the face of the film – Raja Goutham – is horribly miscast in a performance-driven film. The interpersonal relationships in the story don’t create intrigue either – the friend is understandably frustrated with Mani’s grouses and the flashback features a father who speaks to his son with the grace of a Swami Vivekananda.

Breakout is a half-baked survival thriller with a premise of a short film. There’s nothing in it to suggest that it merited a runtime of over 70 minutes. Though it appears to be partially inspired by Rajkummar Rao’s Trapped, the treatment is miserable. In times of content explosion, it’s just not worth it to spend time on a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

Music and Other Departments?

MS Jones Rupert does everything in his capacity to amplify the thrills and the mood of the film, alas the screenplay and the performances are too weak to help his cause. Mohan Chary’s cinematography is innovative with its use of lighting and natural elements to add visual value to the ambience. The dialogues are only appealing in parts – sounding like quotations from a book of a failed author more than conversations.

Highlights?

Unique premise

Technically impressive

Drawbacks?

Several logical loopholes

Lacks emotional basis

Poor performances

Did I Enjoy It?
No

Will You Recommend It?
No

Breakout OTT Telugu Movie Review by M9