One could call “Angamaly Diaries” an extended scuffle, a movie so relentless that it packs a heavy weight punch in the stomach.
“You are going too fast with the knife. You could never get it in and out of the ribs that quickly, " said a suave Robert De Niro to an animated Joe Pesci on the set of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas".
All the 86 actors in Angamaly Diaries, when in tantrums, makes the softest part of our body lurch and bounce when the comedy of mannerisms strike us. In the underbelly of Angamaly, Vicent Pepe and his gang ply their trade comfortably until rival gangs strike forcibly.
Ilamai Idho Idho... Ilamai Idho Idho... This is precisely when the popular song from Sakalakalavallaban feature in Angamaly Diaries, leading to a flashback with an allegory. It is somewhat pity people call the pork business to be necessary evil, but with that you tend to get some who are frolic at times and frivolous most of the times.
The outrageous Chemban Vindod’s script has a moment where a couple of thugs fix the carcass from a coffin so that hundreds could stop the cacophony and get on with the funeral. That the climax roams around an annual pegeant in the Angamaly Church is outrageous.
Think of mixing up all these elements and the dark humor of Chemban Vinod’s script. Think of the wonderful ways in which Girish Gangadharan’s camera swirl in circles, and capture the method in the madness. Think of the nerdy neighbor next door who may even call the goings-on in “Angamaly Diaries” realistically awesome. Sigh. They are all partially true or had gone fully mad, depending on how hard they are being hit. Or, dare I say, whacked. The cumulative result is simply an impeccable fillm - Angamaly Diaries by Lijo Jose Pellissery.