Films that unfold like stage plays, including extensive dialogue and taking place mostly in a single location are not exactly easy to handle, since, usually, they lack the movement and speed that is associated with cinema. Nevertheless, Sidhartha Shiva, the former winner of a National and a Kerala State film award for “Ain” tries his hand on the particular approach, while passing from a number of genres.
Sundharma runs a home pastry shop and her job has just started to pick up, with the orders coming one after the other, and her even having an app for her services, even if some issues here and there do appear. Since she does everything by herself though, she needs an assistant and asks her best friend and biggest supporter to suggest someone, which is what eventually brings young Alma to her house. The girl is behaving weirdly from the beginning but Sundharma's need has her ignoring her behavior, to a point at least, even more so after a call with the friend who suggested her. As the story progresses, though, it becomes evident that Alma is not who she says she is, and that her purpose is completely different. As more and more secrets come to the fore, a rather dramatic story is revealed, connected to Sundharma's ex-husband.
There are a number of traits in Siva's work here. For starters, the way he manages to make the viewer “forget” the fact that everything is happening essentially inside a small apartment. The continuous appearance of a local grocer who obviously likes Sundharma is among them, and also the main medium of comedy in the film. The preparation of the cakes, including the packaging is another, with DP Vishnu Narayanan offering a number of images of beauty in that regard, throughout the film. The tension, which is driven from both Alma's behavior and the overall use of music is also a well implemented aspect, with the movie occasionally functioning like a thriller of sorts, although Siva takes care of breaking this sense quickly most of the time The way the secrets unfold one after the other make the story more intriguing, in a testament to Siva's direction.
It is somewhere here, however, that the movie begins to falter. For starters, the story is going too far after a point, with the last revelation in particular being intensely melodramatic. Furthermore, the director's effort to induce his narrative with some sense of speed fails because Sudharma, despite the fact that she is in intense hurry, does not seem to rush in particular, instead moving slowly and wasting her time talking excessively with the newcomer. The ending is satisfying in a way but also moves intensely towards a forced ‘girl power” message, which does not work in particular, especially when combined with the aforementioned elements. Lastly, the intense close up on Alma's otherwise quite beautiful face, does become annoying after a fashion.
On the other hand, the acting of the two women is on a high level. Sajitha Madathil as Sundharma is quite convincing, equally in her calm, angry, worrying and understanding ways. Namitha Pramod as Alma highlights her inner struggle nicely, with her weird ways being entertainingly conveyed and her transformation being well presented.
Despite some significant issues, and the fact that “Yes” would definitely benefits from a smaller duration and less melodrama, there are enough elements here to deem the film worth-watching, particularly for fans of stageplay like movie.
