At one point, she loses her temper and lashes out at the entitled behavior of her sons, asking, "who are you two kings come from heaven"? As the mother of grown-up children, I can tell you, all parents have felt this emotion. Or take the mother, Kuttiyamma played by a terrific Manju Pillai. The exasperation on Charles’ face is something all parents have seen. In one scene, Charles is trying to explain how apps work to his father, who is taking notes. But these characters and situations are so relatable, that you stay with the story.
At two hours and forty-one minutes, Home is much too long. The intention is laudable, but the screenplay, also written by Rojin, inevitably becomes flabby. The film also makes a case for seeking help for mental health, we are told it’s like cleaning the rooms of your mind. He’s a timid man with modest dreams, who only wants to have deeper communication with his sons. His diminutive frame and unassuming manner speak volumes. In recent Malayalam films, the home has been the site for dysfunction and death, think Joji, Kala, Kuruthi, but this film’s default mode is a lingering sweetness, much of which comes from Indrans, who plays Oliver. They are just too busy with their own lives and too sure that they are smarter than the folks who raised them. Antony and Charles aren’t awful, neglectful kids. Home is filled with little details like this, in one scene, Oliver is washing his older son Antony’s car, his younger son, Charles notices this, but instead of helping, he requests that Oliver also wash his scooter. He also named Oliver’s brother Peter Pan and his sister, Mary Poppins. The name comes from the grandfather’s fondness for English novels. Three generations of the Oliver Twist family live under one roof. The alienation that parents feel, mothers are taken for granted and critically, the importance of goodness and decency, which ultimately trumps fame and success. The distance that smartphones, social media, and technology have created, even in the most tight-knit families.
The acts of casual callousness that children, even loving ones, inflict without thinking on their parents. The fraught relationship between fathers and sons, as children become adults and find their own voice. Rojin Thomas’ film about one family in Kerala contains universal truths about families everywhere. The beauty of Home is that everyone, irrespective of age, gender, geography, will see a bit of themselves in it.
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