This film worked in all the ways that Malayankunju and 2018 didn't for me. Both of these films tried too hard to make us care for the characters with either elaborate character arcs to the point the story feels overcooked or by stooping to clichés and schlocky sentimentality when they should have just stayed authentic to their characters and the difficult situations they find themselves in. While Manjummel is still guilty of some on-the-nose writing in some places, it nails…