16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Lovely Movie Review: A flying fantasy that never quite takes off
Mathew Thomas tries his best to act genuinely moved by an insect with a traumatic past. He brings loose charm in the early scenes and taps into emotional vulnerability later. But the script offers no natural progression. One moment, he is mildly amused by a talking fly; the next, he acts as if his entire life depends on it. That shift never feels organic. Supporting actors like Ganga Meera, Manoj K Jayan, Prashanth Murali, and Aswathy Manoharan show up, deliver functional performances, and vanish just as quickly. They all hover on the periphery without leaving any meaningful impression.
Technically, the film has a few strengths. Aashiq Abu's cinematography, soft-focused and warm-toned, adds a lucid, dreamlike visual palette suited to the premise. The visual effects, especially the animated fly, are clean but too sterile to feel truly integrated into the world. Considering the budget, it is a decent effort. The much-touted 3D element is a non-event, offering no real enhancement to the experience. Where Lovely utterly collapses is in its writing. The script reads like a first draft nobody bothered to polish. Scenes drag without rhythm, tonal shifts jar the experience, and the dialogue is painfully on the nose. What could have been a surreal exploration of loneliness, friendship, or even redemption reduces to juvenile banter and clunky exposition. Subplots emerge only to pad the runtime. Even those that seem promising fizzle out with no payoff.
By the time the climax arrives, Lovely has thoroughly tested your patience. Attempts at emotional catharsis feel unearned, and the supposedly feel-good ending lands more bizarre than uplifting. Even worse, a disturbing third-act choice by the protagonist is handled so offhandedly that it severs any remaining empathy for him. It is a shame. There is a bit of charm buried in the concept. But what we get is a film that mistakes quirk for substance and sentimentality for depth. In the end, Lovely is less a soaring adventure and more a clumsy crash landing.
