Zoya Akhtar’s ‘The Archies’ is a near-perfect comic-book movie, handling heavy issues with a feather-light touch
- Trinity Auditorium
- Dec 7, 2023
- 1 min read
The film stars a whole bunch of newcomers you can’t have NOT heard about. The pace slackens towards the end, but other than overlength, there’s little to complain about.
The opening shot of The Archies carries us through fairy-tale clouds and deposits us in Riverdale, a fantasy land filled with Anglo-Indians. It’s the 1960s, and the world – at least this world – has not yet been curdled into cynicism. Bookstore owners set aside time to encourage children to read. Ice-cream store owners remember exactly how a customer likes his milkshake. Girls manage to remain best friends even when they like the same boy. Gay boys unable to verbalise their emotions find love and understanding in friends. Teenage girls write down their feelings in their dear diaries. And even greedy corporate heads know when they are beaten, and accept defeat with grace. It’s practically heaven, which may explain that opening shot through the clouds. The only hellish business is that Green Park – the town’s beating heart of memories and greenery – is going to be converted into a concrete complex.
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