The only regret that I have about watching Malayankunju is that I did not do so when it was in the theaters. I had heard some great reviews about it, but also some reviews stating a slow first half.

However, as I began to watch the movie, I realized that the events of the first half are required to build up the primary character, lend poignancy to the second half, and to prevent the movie from being a mere survival film. We see in the first half a broken man who is either a good one trying to put on a façade of being an asshole; or he is an asshole trying to be a good person. And, his survival attempts in the second half are emblematic of him trying to heal himself; one of the many subtle themes running through the movie.

In a refreshing departure from the standard survival movie tropes, 'Malayankunju' takes issues such as personal loss, depression, and climate change, and weaves a story around it. At the same time, the writer, Mahesh Narayanan, adds enough story to keep the causal viewer engaged.

As is the case with a lot of Malayalam movies, the supporting cast is very natural, and provides a nice glimpse into the rural Keralan lifestyle. However, this movie is all about Fahadh Faasil. There are no new paeans that I can sing about him that haven't already been sung. He is convincing in each shot of the movie and carries the film quite ably.

AR Rahman, apparently returning to Malayalam cinema after 30 years, provides a great background score. We get different themes for each of Anil Kumar's (FaFa) moods. Where the score in the first half oscillates between gentle to turbulent, in the second half, it is all about rousing crescendos interspersed with silences. I haven't seen a lot of 2022 releases, but among the ones that I have seen, this background score is up there with Vikram's score by Anirudh.

Overall, this is very much a movie worth everyone's time.