The film “Michael” is a Tamil action thriller film written and directed by Ranjit Jeyakodi. The additional part of the dialogue was written by Rajan Radhamanalan. The film stars Sundeep Kishan, Divyansha Kaushik and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles along with Gautham Menon, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Varun Sandesh and many other supporting actors. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi are among the five languages in which the film will be released.
In the '80s and '90s, Michael J. Fox was always on the run. It's something you don't really think about until director Davis Guggenheim shows a moving montage of Fox through his film and television career. At the beginning of Guggenheim's documentary on Fox's life and work, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, shows Fox taking a walk now, decades after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. But as Fox walks, it's almost as if he's still trying to run, still trying to keep up, a man who doesn't let his illness define him. When a woman talks to him on the street, he gets distracted from his walk and falls. But instead of accepting defeat, he makes a joke, gets up, and moves on. It's that spirit and determination that makes Fox such a beloved figure, and makes Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie such a compelling documentary.
Director: Ranjit Jeyakodi
Writer: Ranjit Jeyakodi
Stars: Vijay Sethupathi, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Gautham Vasudev Menon
Still begins by showing Fox's early signs of his Parkinson's diagnosis, back in 1990, alone in Florida and scared that his finger wouldn't stop twitching. Guggenheim then steps back to present Fox's life before his illness, a boy who was younger than everyone else and found his calling through acting. It's especially fascinating to learn about Fox's beginnings, with his father having full faith that his son would make it, and when Fox became a struggling actor, selling his furniture for money and saving packets of jam for food.
But once Fox gets Family Ties, he becomes a star, and after Back to the Future comes his way, he launches into an absurd level of superstardom. We see how he filmed Family Ties and Back to the Future at the same time, the celebrity that went to his head, and how his wife Tracy Pollan helped him get back to earth. Showcasing the life of Fox, Guggenheim recreates these moments through footage from Fox TV shows and movies, and through re-enactments. Guggenheim often tries to mix the two, which works surprisingly well. However, the film's occasional reliance on reenactments is sometimes awkward, but thankfully, these moments are pretty rare.
But these re-enactments aren't so necessary, as the best parts of Still are when Fox and Guggenheim simply talk about Fox's life, his struggles with his illness, and their look back on his life. We see how common it is for Fox to fall and get hurt, as he usually shows up with some new injury or bruise. However, Fox never talks about being in pain until Guggeneheim asks him directly about it. Fox claims that he is always in pain, but it is a sign of his resilience and his love for making others happy, which apparently prevents Fox from making pain the center of his life.
Guggenheim uses Still to show that even decades after his diagnosis, Fox is the same guy many of us loved growing up, still just as witty and fun to watch. Guggenheim will counter a great clip of Fox improvising on the set of Family Ties with an interview clip now where he's just as funny. Guggenheim makes sure that he never makes this a movie about a disease, but rather about the impressive life and career that Fox has had; Parkinson's disease is just part of it.
Fox is generous and open with himself, diving into his failures as a father and husband, his problems with alcoholism, and his lifestyle at the height of his career that some may find off-putting. Guggenheim understandably never focuses too much on the negative connotations that Fox is throwing around. However, for a documentary that attempts to give us a comprehensive look at the past, present, and where Fox might be going in the future, it seems strange to gloss over the darker sides of Fox's life. Fox seems more than willing to dive into the darkness, but Guggenheim prefers to show the positive aspects of his subject and friend.
Kiran Koushik handled the cinematography and editing was handled by Sathyanarayanan. Sam CS composed the film's soundtracks and the background score for this film. Bharath Chowdhary and Puskur Ram Mohan Rao produced this film under the banners of Karan C Productions LLP and Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP.
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