Lover Review (2024)

Seeing Lover, reminds me of the nude walk of RanVijay in Animal, because like there, here also something has been reborn. There it was a character, here it is cinema itself. It seems like PrabhuRam Vyas, whose Anil I am now, saw the state of cinema post pandemic and decided that “Fuck it. Let’s do something different”. And it wouldn’t have been tough for him too. Because to be different in today’s age is just to make a film about what is happening today. Which of course no one had the balls to do. And so, we get “Lover”, a strikingly sad film about a soon to breakup “toxic” boyfriend and “his” girlfriend.

There is an interesting use of music in Lover. In the opening portions of the film, we get music abruptly cut by a smash cut to the next scene. Hard, heavy music which cuts to sudden silence. Like when both Arun and Divya, played by a brilliantly fantastic Manikandan and Sri Gowri Priya, as they are going to a known associates’ function. Or in the opening sequence where both Arun and Divya are engaged in a fight.

It has a jerkiness/abruptness which appropriately conveys the state/nature of their relationship. Both fight a lot but makeup, physically but not mentally. Similarly, we get tense and negative music whenever we see Arun and Divya together though they are happy in that particular frame. Whereas, happy music is played when she is with a male office colleague, where she can keep her guards down.

What Prabhuram is showing is not a couple that is in the middle or beginning of a relationship like Kushi so poorly did. It conveys, without showing, that they are a couple who have crossed a lot of things in their 6 years relationship. The idea that there is a past, is evoked very gently and naturally. When we see the opening sequence, which happens due to an argument between Arun and Divya, Arun argues about a particular point. But the way he says it, we realise this is not the first time “this topic” has been bought up. They way the scene ends and the later events suggest a cycle and habit in their relationship.

The interesting thing is that, we now see exactly the same sequence play out after some events in the film. But now, we have a deeper understanding of what, how, why both of them are the way they are, though the film focuses on the male “Lover” than the female, because he clearly is the more affected person. Arun has a rough family background, with a father, who roams with any woman and is dismissive and disrespectful to his wife and son.

What is interesting is that even Arun, who though is extremely close to his mom, also kinds of disrespects her in a certain way. We see him trying to teach his mom how to drive a scooty and when she messes up, he scolds her. We see him constantly speak to her, in a dominating way, though this is also because of her extreme affection and their own relationship.

Similarly, he sees Divya as his mother too in a way or he treats her like how his mom treats him. He is extremely affectionate towards her but when his own inner demons arise, he behaves in the manner which would definitely be comparable to the father he so despises. He disrespects her like his mother, but just like how his mother is unable to leave his father, she is unable to leave him (though here the love between them is a greater factor). Knowing all this, we see the same sequence (in structure, not literally) play out.

But this time, we see that Divya has her friends with her and that Arun has also made a “mistake”. Like the first sequence, we see that the inciting incident takes place due to a social media post (just like how people are judging Arun in real life instead of understanding him, Arun too judges Divya and angrily calls her), the mode of transport is the bike of Arun’s friend (who is also with him), the place of argument is similarly at Divya’s house. In the opening fight, the argument ends due to a physical injury that Arun subjects himself to, while trying to express his anger. But the 2nd time, Arun expresses his anger using a word which emotionally injures Divya, and that’s why, this is the point in the film where the break up has taken place.

So instead of the “Meet-love-break” structure, we get a “break-denial-acceptance” structure here.

And the acceptance scene is done in a very simple way. The same word the Arun called Divya in the scene where they break up, is used here but in a subtle way. Divya compares him with his father and this too him is equivalent to calling him using the word he used with her, because that’s how he sees his father. So, when this happens, Arun finally understands how deeply he has messed up.

The parallels between Divya and Arun’s mother are also quite interesting. Both women, working, caught in a relationship, that they are unable to leave (Divya due to her love, Arun’s mom due to society), both trying to maintain the relationship, but ultimately failing.

It is then, not surprising that, just after the sequence where Arun and Divya’s breakup is fully, finally done, we see Arun’s mom message him to tell that she is divorcing her husband.

But the most fascinating thing about Arun is that, we don’t see him as “the poster boy for toxicity”. The film clearly highlights the reasons for the issues that he faces and for a major point also represents his POV. Hence, we understand at many points as to why he feels whatever he feels but also know that he isn’t justified in whatever he does, just because he has issues.

When after the breakup, it is followed by a sequence where something happens to Arun’s mother or she does something to herself. Later Arun does the same thing as a blackmail. Similarly, after their breakup, Arun’s mother informs regarding her divorce. And just like her, he too finally moves on from the ordeal.

The idea of repetition and the parallels between the various characters is absolutely brilliant. Arun scolds her for hiding about a particular thing, but when Divya points to a similar thing that he did, he brushes her off, telling her not to change the topic.

The film absolutely proves its age via the way the characters interact. Arun and Divya’s talks in one scene are done by GIFs, whereas another time when they are in bed, she tells Alexa to turn the music off. Arun stalks her very many times by her social media account, wherein she has stopped posting her photos due to being scared that Arun might catch her for lying. The subtext cannot be clearer.

When Arun sends a message to Divya and she seen-zones it, he proceeds to “Delete The Message for All”. It felt like a part of me had cut itself to go into the screen. I’m sure other GenZers also feel the same.

Though some of the acting by Kanna Ravi, who plays Madhan, seems off sometimes, whereas in others, he is quite great. Same with Gowri, who seemed brilliant in some places but appeared uncomfortable in others. If the discomfort meant to represent the character, brilliant there too.

We just need more film to not compete with Social media, but only show Social Media on screen; the audience will take care of the rest, because they are assured that they have been represented.