‘Divorce’ movie review: A sensitive take on what happens when a spouse turns into a stranger

A still from Malayalam film ‘Divorce’, directed by Mini IG 

Many marriages made on earth are rendered asunder in courts. The anger, grief, guilt, denial and pain when a spouse becomes a stranger has been sensitively captured in Divorce, debutant Mini IG’s feature film.

Divorce depicts the myriad socio-economic aspects of a legal dissolution of a marriage in Kerala. What drives a couple apart? How does it affect the partners, their children and the families involved?

Scripted by Mini, Divorce unfolds through the lives of six women from various walks of life, all in the different stages of a divorce.

Dancer Anju’s (Priyamvada) desperation to be financially independent and find a space of her own is moving. Her plight throws light on the stigma of divorce as even her parents refuse to support Anju and her daughter. Another memorable character is Sainaba, whose husband deserts her and her two daughters. Her confusion and anguish are writ large on her face as her husband refuses to attend court hearings or provide for her children. Divorce reminds us of how single women are judged by a patriarchal society.

Even confident, financially independent women like advocate Radhika (Akhila) and actor Anandi (Amalendu), have their own emotional storms to handle. In Anandi’s case, it is her success that sours her marriage as her director-husband Gagan (Chandunath) turns bitter and abusive when his films flop.

Noorjehan (Shibla) is thrown out of her marital home when her husband discovers her affair with another man. She loses her two daughters when the court gives the custody to the father.

However, two hours is insufficient to do justice to so many characters, especially since each narrative touches upon the background of many of the key characters.

Mini sketches with grace an incompatible couple in their sixties, Srilatha (KPAC Leela) and her husband (Sreekumar). It is one of the most balanced sketches in the movie where she takes no sides and empathises with the husband and the wife. But the lack of time gives the impression of a story seen with a finger pressed on the fast forward button.

The trope of the artist friend who comes to Anandi’s rescue, a common role in several Malayalam films, and the adulterous wife is a character that could have been held back to give more space to the other characters.

The domestic drama touches upon how long drawn-out divorce proceedings aggravate the trauma for the partners, especially when children are involved. The battle for custody, the tug of war that parents play to turn a child against one parent, the financial struggles of a single parent and the lack of any state support to help women financially or with a shelter till they can find their feet are subtly discussed in the film.

Although shot during the pandemic years, cinematographer Vinod Ellampally’s frames capture the mood of the scenes.

The lack of stars does not affect the narrative. It is the presence of so many characters that distances some of them from the viewer. Focussing on one or two of them would have enhanced the emotional quotient of the movie.

However, it is the theme that makes Mini’s film significant.

The film is currently running in theatres.