Captain Miller Movie Review : Dhanush stands tall in this class action film

Captain Miller Movie Synopsis: Set in pre-Independence era, the British are looking for ’Miller’ (Dhanush), a British soldier turned vigilante. The villagers are tired of the Analeesan’s (Dhanush) antics and ask him to stay away from them. Analeesan, who has become ‘Miller’ after joining the British army, has gone rouge. Can they get to him?

Captain Miller Movie Review: The Koranar deity is the guardian of a small village in Tamil Nadu and its tribes, who is believed to be safeguarding these tribes for as many as 600 years. The king and the prince have their eyes set on the land of tribals, which they claim belonged to them before it was given away to the tribes. Kept away from the temples built by them and at the mercy of the king and his son, the villagers are hoping to attain freedom from the oppression they are subjected to. Meanwhile, the British, who hear about the power of Koranar deity, want to take it to England to please the king of Britain, just like they did it with the Kohinoor. With no option left, the local king hands the deity over to the British. But he also hatches a plan to hire Captain Miller aka Analeesan (Dhanush) and lures him with money and an offer to allow the villagers to the temple to get the deity back. Will Koranar deity be brought back to the village? Or does the rouge Captain Miller have another plan on his mind?

Captain Miller, at large, is a film about struggle for freedom, not just from Brcitishers but also from the oppressors. Captain Miller is one of the rarest film that tells the story of freedom struggle from the view point of an oppressed class. Dhanush gets three different looks in the film and he stands out tall among the sea of some brilliant performers. Dhanush cult is sure to enjoy each and every mass scene written with finesse. Shivarajkumar as Dhanush’s brother Sengolan is a perfect choice. Despite differences in the cause they are fighting for, when they come together, they bring in an electrifying chemistry on big screen. Shivarajkumar repeats the Jailer template in terms of his appearance in the film, but he has a bigger role to play here, especially during the climax. Dhanush is perfectly aided by brilliant cast that includes sudeep Kishan, Priyanka Mohan, Aditi Balan, John Kokken, Edward Sonnenblick and Vinoth Kishan, who shine in their moments, but Dhanush hogs the limelight.

The movie doesn’t lag per se, but it is a bit slow for the genre the makers have decided to tell the story in, making it a poetic action film, with some fabulous camera work. The first half truly testes ones patience with the second half taking off with good action set pieces. Yes, Dhanush is the lead of the film, but composer GV Prakash Kumar is indeed the hero of Captain Miller who manages to bring in emotions lacking in the film with his fabulous background score. The elevation BGM is one of the best in the recent times and coupled with bullet sounds, the music hits the crescendo throughout the film. He has perfectly blended rural percussion with fusion that soothes as well as pump up the audience. Coupled with Cinematographer Siddhartha Nuni’s fabulous long shots of confrontations, Captain Miller gives the old Hollywood vibe in some scenes - a composition you find in classic films.

Arun is known for telling a violent story in his own way. The film is filled with various action set pieces majorly involving gun violence, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Akin to Rocky and Saani Kaayidham, Miller is also about an underdog thrown around in the society, who raises like a phoenix, fighting the battle with the powerless. The big moments aren’t big in a conventional sense, but they are big in scale and sense and are mostly painted with blood.

Staying true to signature Arun Matheshwara’s style of storytelling - like Sani Kaayidham - Captain Miller also has non-linear narration and broken up into 6 chapters and narrated in a non-linear fashion. The sixth chapter hints at a sequel. With a socio-political undertone, just like his previous films, caste discrimination is what rakes up the story and ultimately conveys a message that is relevant even today, despite being set in the pre-Independence era.