Irul Movie Review: Fahadh Faasil and Darshana Rajendran’s Fantastic Performances Stand Out in This Edgy Thriller (LatestLY Exclusive)

Irul Movie Review: When it comes to the premise of debutant Naseef Yusuf Izuddin's Malayalam film Irul (Darkness), you know the drill. A couple looking to spend some quality time on a weekend getaway find themselves stranded in a rainy night. The house they choose for respite is a desolate manor and its only occupant is a loner who is as eccentric as they come. And before they say 'Dasvidaniya', all hell breaks loose. Irul, starring Fahadh Faasil, Darshana Rajendran and Soubin Shahir, has no qualms that it has a plot that we have seen in plenty a film, but it still works because the performances and direction keep you hooked till the end. Irul Trailer: Fahadh Fasil, Soubin Shahir And Darshana Rajendran's Suspense Thriller Will Give You Goosebumps.

So the couple in question here is Alex (Soubin Shahir) and Archana (Darshana Rajendran). Alex is a writer, whose only novel, Irul, is a crime thriller based on a spate of real-life serial killings. Archana is a lawyer, who is so busy in her work that it annoys her boyfriend. So she agrees for a no-mobile weekend trip with him, where he claims he has a surprise in store for her.

Unfortunately, their car breaks down during the night, and without cellphones to ask for help, they choose to go to a manor to make a call from there. Here, they meet its strange owner (Fahadh Faasil) who allows them to get in, but whether they manage to get out is another question all together.

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Like I mentioned before, the general plotline of Irul is quite familiar, with the most prominent callback being Ram Gopal Varma's cult thriller, Kaun, Both the film puts three characters within the confines of a large house, where lights and shadows play their own game, while the film keeps shuffling the needle of suspicion between each of the characters, till it ultimately settles on one. Some of the similarities are so strong that you feel like the writers are just playing around with Kaun's story, and coming up with their own derivatives.

That said, I found myself enjoying Irul and was hooked to the proceedings for nearly the entire runtime. The director Naseef has put up a confident showing for his first film, using three fine actors and work around them within the claustrophobic confines of a house. The second half, especially, is very edgy and riveting, keeping you on the tenterhooks guessing who is the real baddie here.

There are some plotholes though. Without going into SPOILERS, i found myself questioning some of the actions of Soubin's character. It doesn't make much sense for him to do certain things that he does in the film, when he should have done the exact opposite. I get the idea that the makers wants to keep you confused till the very last frame - and that technique works to great effect. But once the showdown is over and the reveal is done, the doubts begin to nibble on your mind.

Which is also why I believe that the finale would elicit mixed reactions, though I am quite fine in its present form. The reveal may not exactly be a surprise, but Irul seeks its strength in making the guessing game last that long.

Technically, Irul is fantastic. There is an excellently-done longish dinner table conversation between the three principal leads, dissecting Alex's novel, that is so well-shot that it becomes the film's highlight. The conversation takes such a bizarre turn, that it makes us question Irul's genre - if it is a crime thriller or a psychological thriller, while the camera sweeps from one character to another. Jomon T John's (also one of Irul's producers) cinematography is so fluid that it immersively makes you a mute spectator, as it plays around with the dark contours of the mansion. At merely one and a half hours long, Irul is distraction-free.

And then there are the performances. Now what can I say about Fahadh Faasil that hasn't already been said before? With each of his outings, this brilliant actor continues to be even more brilliant, and Fahadh shows how easy it is pull that off. In his mysterious character, we can see shades of Trance's Joshua Carlton and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum's Prasad, amalgamated into another winning role for this wonderful performer. Fahadh Faasil Birthday Special: From Being Called ‘Wooden’ to Being Hailed as Best in Business, Recapping the Spell-Binding Journey of the National Award Winner.

Darshana, reuniting with her CU Soon and Virus co-stars here, is steadily becoming one of the most promising actresses to watch out for. I hadn't seen her performance in Aanum Pennum yet, though I have heard raving reviews for her, but I was a fan of what she did in CU Soon. In Irul, she manages to depict the perplexing confundness of her character with enough alacrity, without turning her into a damsel in need of rescue. C U Soon Movie Review: Fahadh Faasil, Darshana Rajendran, Roshan Mathew Excel in This Experimental Thriller That Exposes a Horrifying Social Crime.

An otherwise fine actor, Soubin's performance comes here as a mixed bag. On some occasions, I found him to be stiff, but on other occasions, he was quite explosive. I believe it was the writing around his character, already explained earlier, that restricted his act when it was in its low.

Yay!

- The Performances, Especially Fahadh and Darshana

- The Cinematography

- Riveting Throughout

Nay!

- Glaring Plotholes Bring Questionable Logic

- Bears a Bit Too Much Similarity to Kaun

Final Thoughts

What elevates Irul from its questionable screenplay is its sense of tension-building, ability to grab the viewer's attention to the end, and its amazing set of performers. It may not be perfect, but Irul has the mastery to reel you in from the first scene to its last haunting frame (bar for the underwhelming post-credit exposition). Also, Fahadh is GOAT! Irul is streaming on Netflix!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 02, 2021 02:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).