Mystic Masseur Review
by Shannon Patrick Sullivan (shannon AT morgan DOT ucs DOT mun DOT ca)November 26th, 2002
THE MYSTIC MASSEUR (2001) / ** 1/2
Directed by Ismail Merchant. Screenplay by Caryl Phillips, based on the novel by VS Naipaul. Starring Aasif Mandvi, Om Puri, Ayesha Dharker. Running time: 117 minutes. This film is not yet rated by the MFCB. Reviewed on November 25th, 2002.
By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN
Synopsis: Ganesh (Mandvi) leaves his job as a schoolteacher in 1940s Trinidad and Tobago and returns to his rural home town to become a writer. There, the crafty Ramlogan (Puri) manipulates him into marrying his daughter, Leela (Dharker). After much tribulation, Ganesh finally completes his book, but he finds true fame for his skill as a masseur. This inspires him to try to lead Trinidad and Tobago's minority Hindu community.
Review: What a strange, unbalanced movie. The first half of "The Mystic Masseur" is almost remarkably tedious, to the point that I seriously questioned whether I'd be able to keep my eyes open until the final credits rolled. Apart from some amusing interplay between Mandvi and Puri, the initial hour passes with precious little actually happening, and it appears that the film will be little more than a domestic melodrama. When Ganesh finally adopts the role of the so-called Mystic Masseur, the pace finally picks up. The humour becomes less staid and obvious, and things actually start happening. Indeed, so much is crammed into the second hour that -- in stark contrast to the opening half of the movie -- it almost feels bursting with event. Ganesh's life appears to progress so rapidly -- from Mystic Masseur to political rabble-rouser to government representative -- that it's hard to take it all in, and none of the stages of his career feel as though they're given the attention that they're due. And this is a shame, because there are interesting points being made here about the invisibility of the common man on the large political scale, but they'll tend to wash over most viewers, so hastily are they made. Mandvi gives a curious, opaque performance as Ganesh, which is probably what he was aiming for. Puri is charming as Ganesh's rascally father-in-law.
Copyright © 2002 Shannon Patrick Sullivan.
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