Hey Jude

Shyamaprasad's 2018 Malayalam film follows Jude, gifted at mathematics and struggling with social relationships. After his aunt's death he goes to Goa with his parents and meets Crystal, a musician; both have their own difficulties and the relationship is built on that shared ground. The film's idea is not that the two characters heal each other but that they accept each other's order. Jude's repetitions and Crystal's abrupt shifts of mood do not disappear across the narrative, and the film does not present them as an obstacle. Nivin Pauly and Trisha Krishnan lead. Shyamaprasad keeps the tone calm and shows Goa as an everyday place rather than a tourist one. Against that, both characters' conditions are left medically vague and some scenes remain shallow as representation. Who it's for: those who like Malayalam relationship drama. Who it's not for: viewers expecting careful representation of neurological and psychiatric conditions; the film falls back on generalities there.