When a handful of amateur technicians and a first time director come together, u cannot expect greatness and that is what the Tamil film "Maiem" has to say.The plot on papers sounds sufficiently intriguing and its the execution that falters big time due to lackluster actors and poor technical support.The fact that the thriller hardly throws up surprises goes much against it even it is only less than 2 hours running time.
The film centers around the happenings in a bank ATM in a desolate spot where 3 people are caught by a stranger outside with a huge iron rod.One is a model haunted by her fans, the other 2 are guys on the run , one being a prospective groom and the other his friend who is helping him to elope and unite with his rich girlfriend.There is the ATM security guard under the influence of alcohol in the neighboring room of the ATM who raises a few laughs to keep the trio at ease. Robo Shankar is the only recognizable face in the cast and sleepwalks through his role creating unintentional comic moments where in the film could have been a racy thriller.A sudden murder inside the ATM due to mistaken identity of the 4th entrant and how the entire scenario comes to a conclusion is what the rest of the film is all about.
The message of poor security at ATM centers and how hooligans exploit this to rob and kill innocent people is what the director is trying to get at..but the delivery of the message leaves no impact though it is a burning issue.All in a ll a very passable effort for a first time team.Watch it if you have nothing better to do.