Time: 107 Minutes
Cast:
M. Night Shyamalan as Dev Raman
Mike Muthu as Sanjay
Richa Ahuja as Rupal Mohan
Sushma Ahuja as Mrs. Mohan
Director: M. Night Shyamalan

I was interested in watching M. Night Shyamalan’s very first movie, Praying with Anger. Not many people watched it, and those who did watch it didn’t generally have very glowing things to say about it, but I still wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, I had to watch a very poor quality version on YouTube. Still, I was glad to check it out, even if it’s far from the director’s best work.

The most surprising thing about Shyamalan’s debut movie is that it doesn’t resemble a thriller, but is instead a personal coming of age story. It does have the familiar coming of age topics and themes, and is largely about grappling with internal culture clash and identity. It definitely feels like a movie made by a film student, awkwardly written, rough around the edges, and with pacing that drags. That said, from beginning to end it so clearly feels like a personal project for Shyamalan that it’s compelling enough that you are willing to go along with it. There is a sincerity to it that keeps it endearing.

The performances are a bit of a mixed bag, you feel that most of the actors aren’t experienced and feel awkward. M. Night Shyamalan usually appears in his movies in some capacity, from a brief cameo to even a supporting role. Here though, he takes centre stage as the protagonist. He’s not the greatest actor in the world, but he’s okay, and is compelling and believable enough for the lead role.

M. Night Shyamalan directs this well, you can tell that this movie was made by someone who knows what he’s doing behind the camera. The cinematography is hard to judge; the quality I watched the movie in is very poor, but from what I can tell it is solid and a lot of effort was put into the framing and lighting.

Praying with Anger is very rough around the edges with its fair share of issues, but is still an impressive, sincere, and personal debut film from M. Night Shyamalan. That said, I wouldn’t recommend watching it unless you are a big fan of Shyamalan.