Elippathayam ( The Rat Trap)

  The film documents the feudal -life in Kerala at its twilight.  The protagonist is trapped within himself  and is unable to comprehend the changes taking place around him.  Unni, the last male-heir of a decaying and feudal joint family gets trapped within himself.  His older sister Rajamma waits on him hand and foot ; Sridevi ,the younger , is studying at school and is drawn only reluctantly into his service.  The treatment is great ; using rats as his governing metaphor.  Unni (played brilliantly by Karamana Janardhan Nair ) is stubborn ,narcissistic , feudalistic and an escapist to the core.
According to Adoor , the film is a "a detailed study of a character at many levels -- psychological, physical, social, even genetic, based on his roots. I gave primary colors to the characters' clothes and a predominant gray to the background. "  The sister Rajamma is destroyed by the silence of her brother,  who does not support her when she wants to get married -he turns down an offer because he felt it was beneath his family.  The decline is vividly told , with colour and music used as a striking and significant constituent of the film's thematic development .