Level Cross

Asif Ali and Amala Paul excel in this movie. The two are different personalities coming from different backgrounds living in different environments, yet share some commonalities. Asif is crude and unrefined working as a gateman at a railway level crossing while Amala Paul is a psychiatrist.

They come to meet each other circumstantially in a remote desert setting at the Railway Level Crossing and embark on a process of mutual discovery on human relationships and life experiences.

Asif Ali excels in his mannerisms and body language as a crude and unrefined person but yet his personality is conditioned by his living circumstances.

The film takes us to a desert where time and place become unrecognizable.

A railway track passes through the desert. Although there's no road crossing it, there is a level crossing.

In this desolation, a gateman and his donkey exist... and as each scene unfolds slowly, we are drawn into the story environment of 'Level Cross'.

Beautiful frames... Appu Prabhakar's cinematography allows us to enjoy three-quarters of 'Level Cross'.

The long shots, the slow pace of storytelling, the lack of dialogue, and the absence of many characters make the first half-hour a bit dull, but the film picks up as the train starts moving.

The film becomes engaging through predictable yet flawless interval blocks.

The director manages to confuse the audience by narrating the story of the three characters from different points of view.

Even though the film stands out for its technical excellence and unique narrative style, 'Level Cross' is not for everyone.

If you look closely at Asif Ali's performance as the gateman Raghu, you'll find shades of Mammootty's Putturumis and Mada. However, it's no small feat that Asif Ali managed to carry off the role so effectively.

Although Sharafuddin and Amala Paul handle their roles well, they are not given as challenging roles as Asif Ali's.

Vishal Chandrasekhar's background score blends magnificently with the film's mood. There are minor flaws in the set design, especially in the house near the level crossing, but they don't take away from the overall experience.

The twists in the second half enhance the enjoyment of the level crossing scenes.

In the end, I was convinced that the ghost story-the one about a spirit walking with its head turned around-was not just a subplot but an integral part of the narrative. The director doesn't hesitate to let the audience guess who the ghost really is.

Leaving aside the slow-paced storytelling and the overly dramatic dialogues, Arfaaz Ayub's 'Level Cross' is an experimental film with technical brilliance that deserves appreciation.

So after getting recommendations from Instagram Reels about this movie, I went to witness it's mystery which is definitely not made for all and of course suitable for those audiences who have patience and have no problems with slow burn conversational dramas.

From Storyline POV it's extremely simple and straightforward in nature. But if we put our philosophical theories in the End then it's gonna definitely amaze you. The Screenplay was also little bit in slower side however the duration of this entire movie is properly cut down for any average movie watchers. The Cinematography of this movie felt rich and brilliant especially in the first 12Min of this movie where the Director doesn't put any lines for the Character, The leading character and all over his surrounding was extremely silent But we can simply got the narration in details through our visual memories. You are gonna rate it High or Low depends on your understanding about it's Climax and those hard hitting Metaphors. From Acting POV the Male Leading character was definitely good and Amala Paul also did justice to her role. She looked like Deepika Padukone in this entire movie with same facial recognitions and same kind of Body structures. And another character's appearance was extremely less but good for sure.

From My side it will be 6 Out of 10 Stars for it and it's safe to go with 13+ but I'm not sure whether you are gonna watch it with family or not because 2 mild intimate scenes were there in this movie so choose accordingly. A decent one time watch...

A good attempt from the creators. There are very few movies like this from Malayalam cinema. Asif Ali has done an amazing job and so far 2024 has been rewarding him so well, lots of good movies with characters of different shade.

The production design is the highlight of this film and the location also plays an important role in the movie. The movie is slow-paced and this is where it becomes a tedious task for the audience. It would have been great to wrap it up early but the movie went on and on. Even though it's only 90 minutes, I found the film somewhat difficult to watch. Many thriller elements could have been added to this movie but anyway I appreciate the effort from the director.

Level Cross

A psychological thriller set amidst an imaginary landscape and terrain.

The plot of the movie reflects on Reghu, a Railway Cross Men who is living a remote and secluded life. One day a lady enters into his life unexpectedly and the weird situations that happens in his life afterwards forms the story.

Director has put in his best efforts to showcase various emotions like love,lust,anger,sympathy,empathy,betrayal through his characters in the movie. The movie is moderately paced and Arfaz has done minute detailing of all the three core characters in the story with deeper variations in their performance arc.

The interesting part of the storytelling is the director takes the story through the perspective of all three characters and leaves the audience perplexed.

Splendid performance by Asif Ali and the way he carries Reghu with the prosthetic teeth and makeup was subtle and spot on. The mannerisms he portrayed through his body language synced well with the situation. Impressive performance by Amala Paul and Sharaf.

Arfaz Ayub's debut directorial and the way he carried the movie with an offbeat subject gives the audience the assurance that he is from Jeethu' school of movies and should definitely be looked upto. Brilliant visualization of the barren landscape by Appu Prabhakar.

Arfaz Ayub's distinctive storytelling approach makes the movie worth a one time watch.

Rating - 3.25/5.