‘Murphy’ movie review: An interesting time travel film that prefers emotional impact over poignant drama

Roshini Prakash and Prabhu Mundkur in ‘Murphy’.
| Photo Credit: Saregama Kannada/YouTube

BSP Varma’s Murphy is a time-travel film with a difference. The director doesn’t treat his film as a thriller. Instead, he delves into the dynamics of relationships using time as a tool.

David (Prabhu Mundkur) talks to someone mysterious named Janani (Roshini Prakash) from the past through a Murphy radio. The equipment is close to Richie, David’s grandfather (Dattanna). The radio has a connection to the tragic death of David’s father and often causes conflicts in the grandson-grandfather relationship.

An object being a prominent character in the movie enhances a film’s likeability, and Murphy gets blessed with that advantage. The film begins well, keeping our curiosity intact thanks to the organic conversations between David and Janani. Adarsha R’s beautiful cinematography and Sylvester Pradeep’s music propels the film’s fairytale-like world.

Murphy stumbles when it chooses emotional impact over incisive storytelling. The emotional scenes may not speak to the audience as intended because the important relationships in the plot don’t get established strongly. In a moving scene, David speaks about his fading memory of his father. It’s a simple scene that perfectly describes the difficult experience of missing your parents. However, except for a scene that gets repeated in David’s mind, we don’t see enough of his childhood with his father for us to feel for the relationship.

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Similarly, a love story from the past suffers from hurried treatment. Instead of striving to offer a peek into the feelings involved, the director chooses a melody to drive home the strength of the relationship. David’s girlfriend, Jessie, gets a raw deal, as her character is sketched loosely without a proper arch.

Prabhu Mundkur and Ila Veermalla in ‘Murphy’.
| Photo Credit:
Saregama Kannada/YouTube

Murphy suffers from an identity crisis as the movie struggles to balance several relationships in a sci-fi plot. The predictability factor could hinder our experience as well. We are sometimes ahead of the story, predicting the twists in the tale. Those familiar with the genre might get into the exercise of guessing the surprises, and this aspect could work against the overall impact.

Despite the flaws, the film remains engaging thanks to the performances. Roshini Prakash, Prabhu Mundkur, and Ila Veermala sink their teeth into their respective roles to plug some of the holes in the movie. It’s impressive that the makers haven’t overlooked the significance of quality performances in a complex genre. It’s tough to root for Murphy entirely, but the film works in parts thanks to some solid moments.

Murphy is currently running in theatres