Run, Baby, Run - Excess Baggage

Run Baby Run

2023, Tamil

Director - Jiyen Krishnakumar

Stars - RJ Balaji, Aishwarya Rajesh, Isha Talwar, Hareesh Peradi, Tamizharasan

Mohan's Measure - ⭐⭐⭐

Run Baby Run is a bad title for a serious thriller about murder and suicide. RBR is not a bad movie, however. But like many Indian films in noir genre, it really doesn't know how to put non consecutive pieces together to make for a believable story. For you see, true noir films need to go in depth into the human character to identify the goodness and badness that make human beings what they are. 

The most interesting and convicing of the characters in this thriller is the poor victim. The certainty and confidence in Ms. Rajesh's character makes us wish we could know more about her motives. But the brief flashbacks tell us only that she is an idealistic young woman out to right a wrong. 

What makes the movie go wrong is when it turns the ordinary man, played by Balaji, into a superman. Scenes of him fighting armed bullies single-handedly turns a clever plot into a predictable action thriller. It is here when a clever jigsaw puzzle has to force fit its pieces to come to closure. We leave the film scratching our heads, wondering where the guy starts running.