Mathew Thomas as Roy is an inspiring casting choice, even for the limitations he brings to the table. His fumbling and moments of blankness do get repetitive, but surprisingly this also makes it easier to buy the naivety of someone his age. I believe he’s got some more ground to cover as a performer to hold attention with a character of this length and breadth. Malavika Mohanan’s presence is pleasant, but my reaction to her performance stops there. She’s playing a character whose inner motivations are never revealed. She’s a persistent presence in Roy’s life, one who is also probably assuming that he has the maturity to deal with her non-reaction to all of his advances. One could interpret that she’s got a seemingly messy psyche too, but we also never get to see any ups and downs in her personality over time. That’s also probably by design(?), but it doesn’t help the film that a very limited actor is playing this murky role.
This is a film that can only be read in retrospect. Since it’s such a one-sided narrative, it gets frustrating to constantly second-guess the makers’ intentions. At times, one might even wonder if they’re glorifying Roy’s actions and putting Christy down for using him. But thankfully, the finale at the airport makes for the film’s most interesting stretch. This is where Roy’s castles come crashing down, and the film tries to truly perceive him as a delusional boy being persistent way past the point of foolishness. The drama here is driven by logistical issues, pertaining to immigration procedures, and the anxiety and exasperation are quite well done, but all of these strong strokes of direction come a little too late in a narrative that has already overstayed its welcome.