Dorothy is, undoubtedly, a good movie to watch – unique storyline, flawless performances, and excellent direction. As the movie and its storyline is already being discussed everywhere, I won’t focus too much on what the story is about but for people who are reading about this film for the first time, I will give you a quick glimpse of it.
Dorothy is a story of two friends, Karthi and Subbu, who become inseparable from the very first time they meet – as kids. They grow up and become a part of the local goon’s gang. Both are extremely incapable of doing what they are expected to do. When they are sent to kill a man, they get beaten instead. But when it comes to saving each other, they could kill and that’s what happens when a man tries to kill Subbu and to save his best friend, Karthi ends up killing the guy. Now, this is pretty much what most of the movie’s story is about.
A small part of the story also introduces us to Dorothy, Subbu’s sister-in-law, with whom he feels an instant connection. As he had lost his mother and sister while he was still a kid, Subbu finds all the missing women in his life in Dorothy. But soon we realise that Dorothy wasn’t just about the women he was missing in the outside world but also the woman he was suppressing within. As we are discussing this, I also felt that they should have clarified how Dorothy and Subbu’s mother and sister had died. They had a backstory for his mother and sister’s death but Dorothy remained a mystery. She was murdered and hanged for sure but does that mean the other women in the family were also killed and their deaths passed off as suicides ? In this case, the brutal consequences of patriarchy should have also been reflected in Subbu’s life from early on. Connecting the dots, even while leaving a few things to the audience’s interpretation, would have worked.
Now, moving to the latter half of the movie where it is revealed that Subbu, even though a man, is a transwoman. During the journey that Karthi and Subbu undertake towards Subbu’s destination, Karthi initially hates Subbu’s new identity but eventually empathises with his friend’s transformation and falls in love with him. This, to me, wasn’t convincing. They loved each other to death even when Subbu lived as a man. Now, just because the gender has changed, one small journey couldn’t make one person fall in love with another. I am not saying this isn’t possible; it absolutely is but in Dorothy, it did not convince me to believe that Karthi fell in love with Subbu.
Looking at the story from the other side, the fact that Subbu has always been in love with Karthi is very much believable and convincing. But from Karthi’s side, it should have been pure friendship. If they had taken an unconventional route and told us that Karthi accepted and even went to the extent of marrying Subbu so that she could live a respectable life and be protected from any harm that might befall her after embracing her new identity as a woman, it would still have been a masterpiece. But rushing the story and changing the equation between them so quickly ruined the tale of friendship for me.
I cannot end this review without mentioning how beautifully Sananth has portrayed the character of a trans woman. Unfortunately, most of the story was already revealed by the time I watched the movie; otherwise, that sudden revelation would have been extremely surprising. Even after the revelation, the way Sananth has changed his body language and mannerisms is praiseworthy. I hope he gets all the recognition and rewards (and awards) he deserves for portraying Subbu – both as a man and a trans woman – so convincingly.
Dear Sananth, take a bow! May the world of exceptional opportunities open up for you after Dorothy.
Language: Tamil
Where to Watch? Netflix
