Director: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
The film also features Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, and Parineeti Chopra.
Genre: Action, Thriller
Original release date: December 1, 2023
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
Overview:
One of the most awaited action-thrillers, Animalby Sandeep Reddy Vanga, is all set to bring together a star-studded cast front-lined by Ranbir Kapoor in an upcoming role. The narrative comprises entwining stories of family, revenge, and redemption that contemplate the heart, humanity, and violence within all of us immersed amid a meta alive with intriguing characters and horror-filled action set pieces. Animal is a proudly cinematic filmthat revels in its defiance of normalcy, by knowingly testing the patience of its audience while risking credulity with its portrayal of human nature under scorned strain.
Plot Summary
Animal is the story of a young man (Ranbir Kapoor), who becomes what he is because of his toxic and atypical family. He has an abusive and menacing father, played by Anil Kapoor, whose control over his life is endless. His backstory and trauma — revolving around his unhappy relationship with his father — inform the hero’s adventure. In aging he embraces a life of crime as a way to establish himself get back at others and become something entirely new.
The story throughout the movie sways between his personal torment and worldly battle as he sinks deeper into a world of violence. The narrative explores generational trauma, toxic masculinity and what loyalty and love mean to a family that just can’t stay together.
Performances
Ranbir Kapoor plays the role of teepu and he hero every bit of his acting in a way never like before. His delivery of a troubled and aggressive man is scary yet tragic. It shows in the raw intensity he brings to the character, especially in the folds where he deals with his ancestry_talking back to his father, and dealing with his past. Kapoor excels in portraying the transformation of a person with a soft corner for his offspring to an animal without a heart and esteems of dignity only in power and money.
Anil Kapoor, as the head of the family is in full swagger mode. He is both a villain and a tragic figure simultaneously, an embodiment of the toxicity that has filtered down to ruin his son. Powered by conflict, real tension, and things left unsaid, some of his scenes with Ranbir Kapoor are amongst the best moments that Jug delivers in Brahmastra.
Rashmika Mandanna and Parineeti Chopra lend able support but are characters more of convenience to the male protagonists. Bobby Deol surprises in a negative role and lends his brand of intensity to the film as he makes his own space as a powerful villain.
Direction and Cinematography
Sandeep Reddy Vanga, also known as Kabir Singh yet again spins a twisted and grim tale that examines the psychology of its characters. He takes on bold subjects, he is not afraid of breaking any limits or maybe hitting the wrong tones. A visual treat, Animal Benefits as Vanga leans into stark contrasts and shadows to highlight the grimness of the tale.
The cinematography brings you into the movie. The camera work is always matched perfectly with the action; from the chaotic action sequences of New York to the quiet moments during introspections, setting up a masterclass way for us to understand each character’s emotions in each scene. Graphic violence is weaponized, however never gratuitously and always in the advancement of character motivation and plot.
Music and Background Score
The music on Animal is a crucial element of the movie’s environment, as while a creepy background score raises the strain. Harshavardhan Rameshwar’s soundtrack documenting the tragic and cathartic rake of pain deserves mention for its perfect simplification soundtrack to fit storytelling themes of misery & redemption.
Themes and Emotional Depth
Releasing the human coming October 30, as it crosses over into the world of his most singular effort to date action-thriller that sits firmly in an emotional and psychological space far deeper than anything else. Underneath it all, the film is an exploration of how a toxic environment of family secrecies is bred and trauma molds and contorts their victims into something monstrous. The film also explores feelings of identity, masculinity, and animalistic tendencies that reside within human beings.
He emphasizes the father-son relationship at the core, illustrating how trauma can be passed through generations, compounding into patterns of abuse and violence. The film also toys with the notion of redemption and whether a person so far rooted in violence would ever be able to rise above it to become something other than a monster.
Verdict
A gripping action-thriller with a thriller element. It certainly is not a movie for the squeamish, with its deeply dark themes and violence, however, it is a fantastic character study that was about as deliciously dark and cinematic as anything I had seen up until then (or even now) in this Hollywood fast food culture where movies and television are dumber by the day. Ranbir Kapoor As a narrator is So meant to be and Sandeep Reddy Vanga has announced his arrival openly, quite literally.
Final Rating:
4.5/5 — Animal is one of the most distressing and tragic movies about violence, trauma, and redemption I’ve ever written about both due to the performances within it as well as through how well-written and thrilling its story builds. It is a raw, uncut film that resonates with you for a long time.
