Rorschach

RORSCHACH

A slow-paced drama thriller from Nissam Basheer. First of all its a slow film. A revenge story. The film on the technically an outstanding film. The background scores, the song, the soundmixing were all nice. The visuals were amazing. When looked upon the acting base everyone did their best especially Bindhu Panikkar she was just amazing and Mammokka's acting was amazing some scenes were creepy as gell The film can be a dual perspective film - A psychological thriller, or a horror drama thriller. The action sequences were breathtaing. Story was also a good one, a revenge story. But the main drawback is the pace itself. It's not everyone's cup of tea. Slow pace may be a bit laggy for some, mainly the first half was a bit too long, but intresting. Unveiling the main plot, it was long, but second half was good. Overall its a good theatre experience but not everyone's cup of tea.

Usually, a revenge thriller concludes with the demise or fall of the antagonist, but this movie's plot starts from that point. Which makes this film somewhat distinct from other films.

I don't think so that there's a need to mention about Mammootty's performance in this movie, as usual he nailed. To an extent, we can call this a one-man show of Mammootty.

The making of this film is incredible, the screenplay is gripping and the transition of the character played by Bindu Panicker was something we all have never seen from her before. Glad that they didn't stuff any unnecessary songs in between to cut the flow of the movie. This is not exactly an edge-of-the-seat thriller, this is more of a slow burner.

While most superstars in South India struggle to surprise their audiences and have fallen into the status-quo trap, 3-time National Award Winner for Best Actor Mammootty has continuously managed to deliver roles that are far off the beaten track. In his very first production under his newly launched banner "Mammootty Kampany", the veteran thespian delivers a completely out-of-the-box revenge thriller that breaks every convention in Mollywood, giving us an immserve, brooding dark thriller that staggers with its mood-setting, buildup and its chilling conclusion.

Mammootty stars as Luke Antony, a mysterious NRI who turns up one day in a sleepy village hamlet, having seemingly lost track of his wife after they both were involved in a car accident. Hell bent on finding her or the perpetrators behind his disappearance, the stranger takes up residence in the town and eventually find out that the outwardly simple-minded villagers all have something to hide and their own secrets to protect. Director Nissam Basheer, who made a name for himself with his debut film "Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha (2019)", gets his casting spot on in his sophomore venture, with Jagadeesh, Bindu Panicker and Grace Antony shining in their respective roles.

The background music provided by Midhun Mukundan, the virtuoso behind the smash hit renditions of "Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana", ensnares you fully into this hypnotic world of vengeance, deceit and retribution where you are never fully aware of the motivations and moral compasses of the characters before you. The script and dialogues from Sameer Abdul will continuously keep you guessing while the eclectic camera work from Nimish Ravi doubles the impact of the gruesome proceedings on screen.

"Rorschach" might not be everybody's cup of tea given its insistence not to spoon feed the moralities and convictions of its characters to its audience and its open-endedness in terms of several character arcs. But for fans of moody, atmospheric thriller with dollops of dark humour, this is a definite must-watch and a much-needed break from the template thriller Mollywood has fallen prey to off late. After "Munnariyippu (2014)" and "Puzhu (2022)", Mammootty continues to dazzle in a grey-shaded character and one wishes that the writers in Mollywood rise up to the challenge and give him more such unconventional roles where we can see his full range on display.

RORSCHACH - Malayalam Movie

"I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid." -George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

When rage consumes you at an extremely disastrous point in your life, when everything you loved and depended on is at stake or lost, when you feel you have no reason to go forward in life, revenge raises its ugly head. It is a deeply satisfying thought, but a tragedy waiting to happen and a point of no return. Unless...!

The Rorschach test, or Inkblot test, is a psychological personality test where the subjects' responses to the inkblots are evaluated. It was specially designed to look for patterns of thought disorder in schizophrenia by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach.

Rorschah (the movie) is a psychological thriller in the Neo-noir genre. A Masterclass article on this genre says that "Neo-noir films build off classic genre tropes and update them for a new generation." This is exactly what director Nissam Basheer did for the audience of this generation, which proves why Rorschach is a global success. The whole movie is like an experiment, if you look back at it that way once the end credits start rolling. It attacks your senses in such a way that each person will perceive the movie in a different way. And that is exactly what happens in an Inkblot test! A simple story told with decent pacing goes beyond all realms of the human imagination, resulting in quite shocking revelations, jump scares, and what not! It sucks you into its whirlpool of a story pretty soon, provided you are invested and alert. If you don't, you could be swimming near the border in shark-infested waters, unsure whether the sharks or the whirlpool were a better option! Now, am I sounding conflicted?

Here, Mammootty is Luke Antony, a sombre man with a dark and mysterious past. An NRI from Dubai? With haunting and sombre English songs playing in the background, he drives into a small town in a Ford Mustang. Even that grey-colored Mustang is a character with a broody and ominous look! Mammootty is incredible. He's on fire. His recent outings like Bheeshma Parvam, Puzhu, etc. Have brought out more new faces of his that we haven't seen before. As an actor, at 71, the way he manages to always stay relevant in the industry, choosing unique scripts and giving chances to new and young directors, shows his thirst for acting that can never ever be quenched! As he himself said in an interview, it's his greed for good roles and not the money that keeps him going.

A seemingly ordinary accident that Luke gets into; Luke's missing pregnant wife and related investigation; certain questionable town folk that include an overbearing mother and her obedient sons, one of whom died and left a grieving but emotionally strong wife whose eyes convey mysteries of her own; a cop on his own personal quest into Luke's history; another person who doesn't believe a word Luke says and is out to prove his back story wrong; and many more. Such are the characters in this movie. The lines between good and bad are blurred here, and it is up to us, the audience, to figure out who is good, bad, innocent, and guilty! Luke walks into the lives of these people. Does he have an agenda? Do they all have agendas? As Luke gets to know each of the main characters in this small town, the story unravels slowly, showing us their true colors!

The movie is a trip into your psyche. Once you are in, it hooks you and won't let go until the shocking climax! And yes, that climax definitely jolted me in my seat! A certain character's transformation was astounding! Along with the psychological elements, the director plays around with a little bit of horror as well. Or did he?

By now, I believe everyone knows who the masked person is, and as Mammootty himself said, congrats to that actor for donning such a role where all you see are his two eyes! And it's his eyes that give out his identity to the audience!

Rroschach is written by Sameer Abdul, with outstanding and haunting cinematography by Nimish Ravi. It's superb writing and an excellent choice of shots. Set pieces in the classic Neo-Noir style. The music and BGM by Midhun Mukundan elevate the mood of this thriller to a whole other level. His choice of electronic music for fight scenes gave it all the more juice. Using English songs was a new and innovative thought. It sets the mood for the scenes and the movie as a whole. This is Mithun Mukundan's debut Malayalam movie and he rocked! Previously, he has primarily worked in Kannada films.

The movie is edited by Kiran Das, who has previously worked on Ishq, Joji, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Joseph, and Ambili. His choice of editing decisions, along with the director, made way for a near perfect thriller. The movie boasts some brilliantly choreographed high-voltage action sequences by stunt choreographer Supreme Sundar. It is mesmerizing to watch Mammootty indulge completely in the action scenes. Shaji Naduvil is the art director, and the set pieces for the movie are something to marvel at. Some odd, some strange, but all adding up to the grand scheme of things.

Standout performances all around.

Mammootty is on his A-game. His eerie smile was enough to give you goosebumps. It confuses you into thinking whether he is actually the protagonist or the antagonist! Everything is an act or borderline psycho! This man never ceases to shock and surprise us!

But it is Bindu Panicker as Seetha who steals the scenes, apart from Mammootty. Both were brilliant performances as masters of misleading the audience. Bindu Panicker's cold demeanor at times will give you the chills.

Grace Antony's Sujatha is awesome. She gives a stellar performance as a widow who doesn't give up on life and stands her ground in front of her mother-in-law, Seetha, as well as Luke. Her scenes with Mammootty are simply brilliant. Grace will go a long way towards entertaining us in every way, be it comedy, drama, or extremely serious roles like this one.

Jagadish, as the police officer who smells something fishy about Luke and gets the ball rolling for his own investigation, is in a different ball game altogether. This is a new and unique Jagadish and I would love to see him in these kinds of roles more often.

A nosey Sharaffudin, with a different get-up and look, is very convincing as someone who is steadfast in exposing Luke as he feels everything about him is mysterious. He is a very good actor. Sanju Sivram, who plays Anil, is excellent as Seetha's hot-headed but obedient son. Someone who is ready to go to any length for their mother. Sometimes too far!

Nazeer gets to do a rare and memorable performance as Shashankan. He is also a man with a motive, but struggling within as he borders between good and evil.

Mani Shornur as Balan gave a natural performance and I'm glad to see him in this movie.

Directed by Nissam Basheer, this is his second movie after the successful "Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha." There too, he has some definite messages for us. In terms of plot and genre, these two films are diametrically opposed. That itself shows his immense talent and capability as a director. Congrats to Nissam. I'm looking forward to his next.

Produced by Mammootty under the banner of Mammootty Kampany, Rorschach is a must watch. Give it your attention for the first few minutes, and then you're in for the ride. An awesome theatre experience. But if you missed it in the theaters, then definitely watch it when it comes on OTT.

Such rare gems from the Malayalam film industry shouldn't be overlooked!

Rorschach is the kind of experience that will divide viewers into two: ones who believe this revenge story doesn't need such a detailed storytelling and ones who revel in studying the finer, more minute details à la slow-burn Korean revenge dramas. It reimagines a film like The Chaser or I Saw The Devil, psychologically turns it on its head, and weaves an engaging yarn around it. The level of grey shades differ in each character, and you wouldn't believe how the script accommodates this texturing. A collaboration of the finest order between director Nissam Basheer and writer Sameer Abdul, you'll be left wholly intrigued at how each character, the protagonist included, evolves with every passing scene. The closest attempt in Indian cinema would be Sriram Raghavan's Badlapur, but it's still vastly different.

Rorschach is a genre-bender indeed and it seamlessly blends elements from various genres. There's thrills, slasher aspects, psychological warfare, dark humor, and even a tinge of the supernatural. I love how the makers use colors such as white, black, grey, and green in the film. It just has to be seen to be believed - the greyness of the unpainted house melding with that of the Mustang GT driven by Luke, the jackets worn by Luke meshing into the green, forested backgrounds, and more along those lines. Nimish Ravi's (Kurup, Luca) frames are magnificent, taking us through different doors of the protagonist's mind, and shifting perspective often. Kiran Das' edit work also needs praise, as he allows the scenes to breathe and have a natural progression. The astounding winner in the technical department, however, is composer Midhun Mukundan ( Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana), who comes up with a spectacular soundtrack that elevates the film (especially in those character transformation and procedural scenes) to another level altogether.

There's no way I can hold myself back from praising the entire cast who literally compete with each other to provide incredible performances. Leading from the front is Mammootty who continues to surprise us (at 71) and ensures his character Luke Antony is deeply studied by critics and audiences alike. Right alongside him would be Bindu Panicker who is mind-blowing in the role of a subtly fierce Seetha, and Grace Antony who plays the bold-yet-vulnerable Sujatha. It is wonderful to see Jagadeesh, Sharafudheen, and Kottayam Naseer lend gravitas to their respective roles. They're dependable performers if the script has something substantial for them.. new-gen writers, take note.