‘It’s A Medical Miracle’ Review: When An Ambitious Idea Gets Lost In A Noisy Narrative
A man wakes up from a coma with an extraordinary ability to hear every sound around him with unbearable clarity.
It is a premise that immediately sparks curiosity, and director Shyamin Gireesh attempts to build a mystery thriller around this unusual sensory experience.
Spoiler Alert:
The film begins with Ruben Kurian (Sangeeth Prathap) and Suraj (Sharaf U Dheen), and then Ruben meets with an accident.
He slips into a coma, while the story gradually introduces the mysterious events unfolding around him. Two years later, Ruben is taken for mercy killing after his prolonged unconscious state, only for a sudden medical miracle to bring him back to life.
But his return comes with a strange consequence: his hearing has transformed into an overwhelming ability where even the smallest sounds feel deafening.
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The film successfully makes the audience experience Ruben’s discomfort. Every sneeze, whisper, and ordinary noise becomes amplified, creating a sensory overload that almost transfers his suffering to the viewer.
But this very strength becomes the film’s biggest weakness too.
The repeated use of this soundscape, though technically impressive, becomes exhausting after a point. Gradually it begins to dominate the viewing experience.
As Ruben tries to understand his new ability, he discovers that his own family had slowly accepted the possibility of losing him during his coma.
Though they spent a fortune trying to save him, he feels emotionally disconnected and decides to search for the nurse who he believes kept him alive during those years. This journey takes him to Kochi, where he crosses paths with Suraj, a police officer involved in an investigation.
Sangeeth Prathap’s portrayal of a man trapped between gratitude, confusion, and pain gives the character a fragile humanity.
He handles the physicality of sensory overload convincingly, making Ruben’s struggles believable.
Sharaf U Dheen, meanwhile, brings a completely different energy to the film.
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His transformation as Suraj, from a seemingly harmless and humorous character to a disturbing antagonist, is one of the film’s most interesting aspects.
There are shades of the dark intensity he explored in Anjaam Pathiraa, but here he adds a different layer of eccentricity and unpredictability.
Akhila Bhargavan as Susanna has an important emotional space in Ruben’s journey, but the performance does not always land effectively.
Some of her emotional sequences lack the required intensity. Her dialogue delivery, especially during the more dramatic moments fails to create the emotional weight those scenes demand.
The character had the potential to become a stronger emotional pillar of the film, but the writing and performance together leave those moments less impactful than they could have been.
The writing of It’s A Medical Miracle comes from actor-writer Nileen Sandra, who previously collaborated with Shyamin Gireesh on Karikku-backed mini-series Samarthya Shastram.
She portrays Ancy, Susanna’s sister in the film.
The film also introduces a police investigation track, with Sharaf U Dheen’s Suraj being part of a cop team that initially appears to have a significant role in unfolding the mystery.
The investigation team including Parvathy Krishna and Akhil Peethambaran adds another layer to the narrative, creating the expectation of a larger cat-and-mouse game between the police and the masked antagonist.
However, as the story moves closer towards the climax, the importance of the police team gradually diminishes.
The first half gradually builds its mystery as Ruben uses his ability to help solve crimes. His heightened hearing leads him to discover a kidnapping case, and slowly he realises that this unusual power can be used for something beyond his own problems.
The film creates some genuinely engaging moments while exploring this idea.
However, the second half loses some of the grip it establishes initially.
The plot becomes interesting, but the screenplay rushes into the confrontation rather than allowing the tension to naturally evolve.
Suraj’s character is fascinating because he is not a conventional villain. His obsession with revenge comes from his own distorted sense of justice.
He punishes people who insult him, even when those insults are casual or unintentional. His actions become increasingly disturbing, turning him into a person consumed by his own wounded ego.
The scenes involving his attacks are unsettling, especially the brutal assault on Ruben and Susan. The film does not hesitate to showcase violence, and at times it becomes extremely uncomfortable to watch.
Suraj’s duality, where he appears as a simple family man while hiding a darker personality, is perhaps the most compelling character element in the film.
The confrontation between Ruben and Suraj had the potential to become a much stronger emotional and psychological battle.
But the climax feels stretched and could have benefited from sharper writing and tighter execution. The final portions explain too much rather than allowing the characters and their conflicts to speak for themselves.
The sound design plays a crucial role in creating Ruben’s world, although the excessive repetition eventually works against the film.
The same device that initially creates immersion later becomes a source of fatigue. By the end, I almost felt like Ruben himself, irritated by every little sound around me.
Despite its flaws, It’s A Medical Miracle deserves credit for attempting something different. It has an unusual concept, a talented cast, and moments of genuine creativity.
But a brilliant idea alone cannot carry an entire film. The screenplay needed more discipline.
What could have been a sharp, inventive thriller becomes an uneven experience because of its overstretched sound treatment and a climax that does not fully match its promising setup.
By the time the film ended, I genuinely felt the impact of Ruben’s condition lingering with me. Even the most trivial sounds around me felt unusually amplified for a few minutes, and it took some time before my senses returned to normal.
Timeline Verdict:
It’s A Medical Miracle is an ambitious experiment with flashes of brilliance, but it remains a film that constantly fights against its own excesses.
Rating:
2.5/5
Cast: Sangeeth Prathap, Sharafudheen, Akhila Bhargavan, Kiran Peethambaran, Nileen Sandra
Crew:
Director: Shyamin Gireesh
Writer: Nileen Sandra
Producers: Sujith J. Nair, Paul Varghese
Music: Mujeeb Majeed
Cinematography: Akhil Xavier
