Rorschach

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.

A thriller/mysty movie about luke filing a police compliant of his wife missing after an accident. The story progresses with new revelations and we finally get to know the last of luke and his intentions and reason for his current visit.

The story is elevated by star cast who makes it convincing and director Nissam who handles the flow in a different way. The cinematgraphy captures the natural beauty of the locale and the characters in their raw getup which eleviates the end effect. The use of English songs also makes the tratment different.

Mamooty is superb as Luke.

Jaddish was a big revelation to me in this movie, he is excellent. As far as i remember this is the first time he gets to play a role like this and he does a fantastic job. Hope he plays more such real characters in the future.

Bindu Panikkar as seetha is mindblowing.

Grace does a marvellous job, another feather in her cap after Appan.

Other significant performances that stand out are Sharafudheen & Kottayam Nazeer.

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.

Rorschach is exactly the kind of out-of-the-box genre-blending film that gives me a big kick. One of Mammootty's most delightfully wicked performances, with ample space for dark humour and little 'mass' moments. Also, it's refreshing to see a soundtrack full of English tracks.

Luke Antony delivers a revenge which audience has to decide how much is the impact of it. One of the best Technically Brilliant movie with an open script.midhunmohanan has delivered his career best BGM. #Mammootty The Performer.

Many people may not understand or may dislike the film,but that's ok. Excellently made by nisam basheer Sameer abdul nice score by MM dop nimish👌mammukka is at peak form cast also did gud.

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.