With a name like Merry Christmas, you would expect the movie to be a Hallmark holiday movie, but this Sriram Raghavan directorial is far from it. The movie is based on the book Bird in a Cage by Frédéric Dard, with Katrina Kaif and Vijay Sethupathi bringing the protagonists to life. Does the film live up to being a good noir, or does it fall flat? Read our review of Merry Christmas to find out.

A romance or a suspense?

Merry Christmas is set across one Christmas Eve night when two kindred strangers meet. The movie starts with a side-by-side frame of two people grinding something in a mixer. One is making a peanut chutney powder, and the other is making up a concoction of pills. You can start theorising about who is doing what from this moment onwards.

Albert (Vijay Sethupathi) has just come back home after seven long years and is mourning the death of his mother. Albert is grappling with loneliness in a house filled with his mother’s memories. To escape the solitude, he decides to take a walk across town, enjoying the air of festivity in the town. In a restaurant, he comes across a single mother who is sitting with her daughter and a giant teddy bear. Albert is intrigued by her, and follows her across the night, from the restaurant to a movie theatre that’s playing The Adventures of Pinocchio. This right here could be a forewarning of what to expect in the movie – a web of lies and deceit.

Albert and Maria (Katrina Kaif) find solace in each other through the night. Maria is grappling with her own kind of loneliness as her husband is out frolicking with his mistress while she is left to take care of her mute daughter Annie. Two people who are unlucky in love, with mysteries of their own seem to have sparks flying between them. That is till the duo walks into a crime scene and new information comes to light.

An effective slow-burn

The first half of the movie is undoubtedly slow. It can get a bit dull, but at the same time, you’ll be wondering what is happening and when the real action will take place. It takes a little patience, and if you aren’t a fan of noir crime thrillers, you’ll probably be bored. But 10 minutes before the interval, the story picks up pace. So much so that you wonder why we even have the interval. It’s probably a smart move by director Sriram Raghavan to ensure the audience stays seated. The second half of the movie is intriguing and will keep you engaged. Every time you think something specific is going to happen, the plot goes an entirely different way.

The major plot twist is unpredictable, but once the plot threads start to unravel, it isn’t really difficult to predict what will come next. Despite everything you know, you are hoping for the criminal to get off scot-free, you anticipate a perfect crime. But is that really possible? Watch the movie to find out, ‘coz I ain’t spoiling it for you.

The performances are the glue

Merry Christmas is driven by its performances. Vijay Sethupathi is brilliant as the introverted Albert who is awkward, yet charming. He pulls off humour with a straight face and still manages to get a chuckle out of you. He is the highlight of the movie and his chemistry and banter with Katrina Kaif is a treat to watch. Maria is probably Katrina Kaif’s best performance so far. She emulates the innocent beauty with an air of mystery around her perfectly well. The Vijay Sethupathi-Katrina Kaif pairing is an unlikely one, but both actors pull it off with aplomb.

Sanjay Kapoor as a slimy Ronnie, Vinay Pathak as a cop, and Ashwini Kalsekar as Ronnie’s funny wife, charm in their limited screen time. Ashwini Kalsekar embodies the naivety of a wife who trusts her husband blindly, and she adds a much-needed humorous punch to the film. The performances and the story itself are brilliant and that’s what makes Merry Christmas worth a watch.

Merry Christmas is now in cinemas.

Can you watch Merry Christmas with your family?: Absolutely. But don’t bother taking your kids along, ‘coz they probably won’t understand a thing.

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