O2 Film Review: Nayanthara delivers a gripping psychodrama

The beginning of the film is very cliche. For the first 15 minutes of the film, we’re given repeated takes and a song to make a rudimentary point about a mother’s unconditional love for her son. Now that we’ve gotten past some expendable narrative commitments, we come to the interesting part. Parvathy’s (Nayanthara) son Veera (Rithvik) suffers from an illness that requires him to be on 24-hour oxygen. But his suffering will end soon as he will soon undergo life-saving surgery that will allow him to breathe normally without support. Parvathy and Veera are on their way to a hospital in Cochin for the operation. Everything is packed, including an extra oxygen tank and Veera’s pet potted plant. Both play a crucial role in the upcoming events.

The bus that Parvathy and Veera take is fraught with conflict. A corrupt cop with a gun and a bag full of cocaine, a convicted felon just out of prison, lovers trying to elope, a father who has no idea his daughter is trying to elope, a morally flexible politician and a bus driver in a perpetual moral dilemma, the mother-son duo accompany them on a journey that turns traumatic in no time.

A landslide buries the bus containing Parvathy and Veera, turning the vehicle into a massive coffin. As the people on the bus continue bickering, unaware of the real issue, Parvathy steps in and enlightens them on the serious situation they are in. “We’re stuck in a coffin. We’re running out of oxygen.” She advises passengers not to use up all the air on the bus through physical and mental exertion. At first they all seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. But soon everything begins to fall apart.

Fear begins to bring out the worst in everyone. And the corrupt cop becomes the agent of chaos, pushing people over the edge and letting them choose between a clean, guilt-free conscience and a breath of medical oxygen. The people who look kind and reasonable and just turn into killers, and those who we assume are the worst turn out to be the good guys.

Amidst all the drama, we know that Veera’s oxygen tank is becoming a valuable currency that people would kill for. So Viknesh plays with our minds as the situation keeps swinging from hope to despair. There are times when the situation becomes bearable and passengers find a way to get some fresh air on the bus. But then the bus falls further and destroys all hopes of survival. We’re relieved to think that Veera will now be safe with oxygen in the loop. But how long is the question that keeps us invested.

O2 is quite an engrossing survival drama that separates brute force from real heroism. Sometimes we seem to confuse heroism with physical strength. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes.

Watch O2 on Disney Plus Hotstar.