PRAYING WITH ANGER
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1993 James Berardinelli
Rating: 6.0 out of 10 (C, ** out of ****)
Date Released: 5/28/93 (Limited release) Running Length: 1:43 Rated: PG-13 (Language, violence)
Starring: M. Night Shyamalan, Mike Muthu, Christabel Howie, Richa Ahuja, Arun Balachandran Director: M. Night Shyamalan Producer: M. Night Shyamalan Screenplay: M. Night Shyamalan Music: Edmund K. Choi Released by Northern Arts Entertainment
Dev Raman (M. Night Shyamalan) is an American-born Indian sent to India as part of a college student exchange program. Dev is reluctant to go, but his mother, to whom he is devoted, insists. So, friendless and alone, halfway across the world, Dev experiences culture shock--he may look like an Indian, but it is quickly and vividly demonstrated that looks are of little consequence, and it will take more than a glib tongue and an unwillingness to back down to earn acceptance and respect. In the midst of his initial travails, Dev's sole friend is Sunjay (Mike Muthu), his guide and mentor, upon whose advice he relies. There are times, however, when he chooses to be headstrong and ignore Sunjay (on such issues as approaching a pretty girl or passively accepting the taunts of older students). Unsurprisingly, those incidents typically lead to embarrassment or worse.
Stories about clashing cultures are nothing new to movies. In recent years, the subject has formed the basis for comedies (such as the wildly popular 1986 release CROCODILE DUNDEE, about an Australian transplanted to New York), science fiction (STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME, about a group from the twenty-third century coping with modern-day San Francisco), and numerous dramas (including 1992's CITY OF JOY and MISSISSIPPI MASALA). Now, PRAYING WITH ANGER can be added to the list. The debut film of M. Night Shyamalan (who produced, directed, wrote, and starred), PRAYING WITH ANGER attempts to present another perspective on this issue.
Comparisons with CITY OF JOY and MISSISSIPPI MASALA are appropriate. Like PRAYING WITH ANGER, both of those movies deal with friction between Indian and American traditions. However, where MASALA sets the story in the United States and CITY OF JOY makes the protagonist a white male adrift in Calcutta, PRAYING WITH ANGER sends an American born Indian to the "home" that he has never known.
The film is at its best when it explores Indian culture and tradition, and examines how Dev must adjust to live in what for him is a strange world. These scenes, which make up a majority of the first half of PRAYING WITH ANGER, are often fascinating. Shyamalan doesn't reveal anything extraordinary, but neither does he shrink from showing the often-painful rigidity imposed by India's caste divisions. Social class is very much an issue, both as it applies to Dev and the people that he comes to care about.
Unfortunately, the basic plot is a series of formulas neatly bundled together. There's the requisite tragic love story, the girl who bucks the centuries-old system, the outsider who comes to be respected by those who previously despised him, and, of course, the coming of age tale. PRAYING WITH ANGER lacks originality and inspiration, and after the initial interest has worn off, the story has a hard time holding the viewer's attention. It's always apparent what's around the next corner, and the one after that as well.
Shyamalan occasionally has problems with dialogue. Most of the time, the lines are okay, but there are moments when he launches into jarring, overblown sermon-like lectures. We do not, for example, need to have it explicitly and repeatedly pointed out how beautiful the traditions of India are when the camerawork places them adequately on display.
Like the dialogue, the characters are uneven. At times, the people in PRAYING WITH ANGER seem real, but there are occasions when they become foils for the plot. Dev's sudden and complete transformation in the film's final act is difficult to swallow, especially since we are never presented with enough evidence to justify such a radical swing in point-of-view.
To the credit of M. Night Shyamalan, he strove for something lavish and ambitious in this, his first effort. While PRAYING WITH ANGER is not a total success, there are enough glimpses of promise to indicate that Shyamalan may have a fine future in film making. However, beyond those brief-but-sterling moments, PRAYING WITH ANGER relies on too much stock material for it to be satisfying enough to warrant more than a passing interest.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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