Dorothy Movie Synopsis: Childhood friends raised in a world of violent patriarchy find themselves on opposing sides as they grow into men. Can they find empathy and acceptance—within themselves, and from the world around them?Dorothy Movie Review: Right from his debut, Pizza, there’s been one element common to Karthik Subbaraj‘s films – a transition of genre. Sometimes it has worked, like in Pizza, Jigarthanda and Jigarthanda Double X; sometimes it has not, like in Jagame Thandhiram and Retro. But never has it felt as essential to the film as in Dorothy, his 10th film. Here, the transitions unfold on multiple levels at once: a gangster drama becomes a coming-of-age film; a hyperviolent world turns into one of empathy; chaos gives way to calm; murders make way for life-saving acts; cooler blues and greens warm into browns and yellows; narrow, boxed-in frames open into wide vistas (the cinematography is by Tirru); rapid cuts gradually settle into longer shots (the sharp editing is by Ganesh Siva); the masculine yields to the feminine; friendship deepens into romance.The story begins in Sevapatti in the mid-’80s, with the friendship of schoolboys Subbu and Karthi, that’s forged when the former saves the latter from bullies with his Bruce Lee-inspired karate moves.Subbu has grown up in a world of patriarchal men, in a family with no women, that’s headed by his father Whistle Veeraiya (Muthukumar) and two ruffian brothers. Honour killing is a way of life for them. When Karthi initially asks Subbu if they are evil, the latter asks him to decide for himself. Later, in a smart Nayakan reference, he poses the same question to Karthi, and his only response is “Theriyalaye pa”. Not surprising, for the boys haven’t seen any world other than this one.As the boys grow up, there’s a role reversal: Karthi (Rishikanth) turns into a hot-headed young man like Subbu’s brothers, while Subbu has to play the role of a pacifier and peacemaker. When his brother Velu (Shanmugaraja) brings home Dorothy (Keerthy Suresh), a Malayali girl, as wife, Subbu finally gets someone with whom he can be himself. But will there ever be a place for Dorothys and Subbus in Veeraiya’s patriarchal household? Can friendship continue when you realise the person you have friends with since school is no longer the same person? Dorothy is Karthik Subbaraj’s most ambitious film so far and also his most focussed. He has always been fantastic as far as craft goes, but here he shows a control as a writer we haven’t seen from him before — there’s hardly a wasted line or shot, and nothing feels engineered to serve a predetermined narrative direction.The actors are terrific all round. Rishikanth and Sananth give the performances of their lives, capturing the internal and external turmoil of their characters convincingly. Muthukumar, in an almost unrecognisable look that recalls composer Keeravani, is quietly menacing as a man whose emotional register begins and ends with “kudumba maanam”. In this testosterone-filled world, Keerthy Suresh and Jeeva Subramanian’s warm performances provide the emotional anchor.Ilaiyaraaja’s terrific music is a burst of thunder in the first half and a soft caress in the latter portions, lending the drama, and its delicate handling of queer lives and relationships, both weight and empathy.The film’s ending may challenge conventional audience expectations, but Karthik Subbaraj deserves credit for resisting the safer route and following the story through to its logical, uncompromising conclusion.