The exciting thing about Rorschach, the new film from Nissam Basheer starring Mammootty, is that it makes you believe that you have cracked the suspense very early. And it traverses beyond that prediction of ours in a non-jarring way. Written by Sameer Abdul, Rorschach is a brilliant blend of craft-rich making and detailed writing. With a visual language that keeps the movie in that engrossing space, Rorschach invites you to join the process of unveiling the mystery.
Luke Antony is an NRI who was in Kerala for a trip with his wife. But his car gets crashed, and when he gained consciousness, he found out that his wife was missing. Even though the police and the native people joined in the search for two days, gradually, everyone lost interest. But Luke never backed out from the search, and he stayed at that place. Luke’s search for his wife and what all happens after that is what you see in Rorschach.
Sameer Abdul’s idea here is built around revenge. But he explores the fulfillment of that thought more deeply. And that allows Rorschach to enter the paranormal/supernatural space. And rather than making it a supernatural revenge drama with great production quality, Rorschach examines the deep-rooted dark energy, and it ends up creating some fascinating characters in this film. The film succeeds immensely in maintaining that element of suspicion around the central character by revealing something new at regular intervals of time.
Nissam Basheer, who made an emotional drama in the form of Kettyolanu Ente Malakha, is very clear about the visual treatment when it comes to Rorschach. The geography, the color palette, etc., plays a very key role in setting the mood for this psychological thriller, and he makes sure that it never feels like a staged location like a Bhansali film. Nimish Ravi’s cinematography is terrific. From the selection of camera movements to the usage of those tilted shots, the cinematography subconsciously feeds the audience about the nature of each scene. Kiran Das’s editing holds the multiple tracks together without really losing track. And I really loved the way he handled that montage towards the climax, which created so much curiosity around the intent of Luke Antony.
I really love this phase in Mammootty’s career, where he seems to be less bothered about the presentation of his characters. Luke Antony may have a superior fashion sense due to his lifestyle, but the movie never really places that character as a source of swagger. The rudeness and focus of Luke were portrayed minimally and brilliantly by Mammootty. Grace Antony pulls off a very confident performance in this film as Sujatha, and in her combination scenes with Mammootty, it was a joy to see her as that character. The one actor who will get a lot of accolades and appreciation post-Rorschach will be Bindu Panicker. She has reinvented a new space for herself with this film, and the subtlety and conviction in her performance were top-notch. Sharaf U Dheen, Kottayam Nazeer, Jagadheesh, Sanju Sivram, and Mani Shornur are the other prominent names in the star cast.
Rorschach will be one movie that will get some cool analysis videos after its OTT release. In the movie’s posters, one can see several patterns which represent the emotional state of an individual in a Rorschach test. And it will be interesting to understand Luke after knowing the story through these patterns. Rorschach never spoon-feeds you to fill in all the blanks by explaining everything. Everyone around Luke is narrating their knowledge to the audience. And that final “welcome back” speaks much about Luke’s revenge plan’s depth without talking too much.
With a visual language that keeps the movie in that engrossing space, Rorschach invites you to join the process of unveiling the mystery.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
