Rorschach Movie Review: Kettiyollaanu Ente Maalakha fame Nissam Basheer's sophomore film Rorschach is a psychological thriller. It is also a revenge drama, that also turns into a supernatural tale. At one point, I saw it as a twisted take on its lead star Mammootty's '90s outing, Azhakiya Ravanan. Rorschach is all of these and then some more. It is one of the most unusual offerings I have seen in Malayalam cinema, especially headlined by a superstar, and that's what makes it such an enthralling watch, even if the pacing often comes an hindrance. Rorschach Review: Mammootty's Performance in This Psychological Thriller Impresses Netizens!

A stranger walks into the police station of an unidentified village and identifies himself as Luke Anthony (Mammootty). He claims his car had an accident and his pregnant wife has gone missing. The police and the villagers search for the missing woman but to no avail. After a few days, they lose interest but Luke adamantly stays on. While the villagers see him as some kind of oddity - well-dressed and rich at that - Luke is rather fascinated with the survivors of a deceased young man named Dileep. Which includes his mother Seetha (Bindu Panicker), younger brother Anil (Sanju Sivram), brother-in-law  and widow Sujatha (Grace Antony).

Also in the story are a local cop Ashraf (Jagadeesh) and Sujatha's childhood friend Satheeshan (Sharafudheen), who separately try to investigate what Luke is really upto.

Watch the Trailer:

Right from the opening scene that has Luke walk into the police station, Rorschach keeps you intrigued about the whole deal with its mysterious protagonist. You know it inside that there is more to the case than a missing person's search, and a few scenes later, Rorschach confirms your suspicions, only to then add more layers to what exactly is Luke upto. The mystery continues to be thicker and thicker, with Midhun Mukundan's atmospheric score pumping up the thrills when needed.

The movie deliberately messes with your head, either through Luke's hallucinatory episodes and possible supernatural forces. And sometimes just for the sake of it. Like, we see the aftermath of a scene before the movie gets into how it got there. Or when Luke's hallucinations seeps into real life. The messy nature also comes from the intentions of the people Luke is keeping an eye on, or those who are keeping an eye on him.

Rorschach is not a conventional thriller and, save for a couple of fight scenes to remind you of its infallible hero's superstardom, it remains that way till the end. That helps in keeping both the mystery and the intrigue alive, even if it also means that you have to be a patient watcher. The suspense is not in the target, but in the process and in the intentions, and that stays on till the final scene of the movie. Mammootty Birthday Special: From Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar to Amaram, 7 Best Films of the Malayalam Megastar According to IMDb and Where to Watch Them Online.

There is a decipherable greyness that permeates not only the mist in the area but also the characters, including Luke, whose obsessive vendetta turns him into a creep when needed and even marry someone only for the purpose to taunt his target.

It is not just Luke, but even the other characters are equally fascinating. Especially the two principal women in the story. Seetha is first shown as the grieving mother who just wants the best for her children and loves them dearly, but as the layers are peeled off that facade, we find out that love comes at a dangerous cost. Sujatha, perhaps the least grey character in the set, is a woman who is cornered to submission, but that doesn't make her compromise on her self-respect. Especially when others expect her to live her life in mourning or be in subservience to her husband.

Coming to the performances, this is yet another complicated and impressive grey performance from Megastar Mammootty after Puzhu. Shedding the righteousness we usually associate with such characters (unless they are in a Sriram Raghavan film), Mammootty is very much convincing as the man battling the inner demons (quite literally at that) while trying to quench the thirst for revenge. The actor never goes bombastic in any scene, only letting the smirk in his eyes (yes, that's a thing) and a casual but calculative swagger define his body language. He could have easily walked out being the best performer of Rorschach, if it was not for another actor. Puzhu Movie Review: Mammootty’s Fantabulous Negative Performance Anchors This Slow-Paced Psychological Drama.

Rorschach might belong to Mammootty, but Bindu Panicker is easily the biggest show-stealer here. One of Malayalam cinema's favourite character artistes, BIndu Panicker gives one of her finest performances, if not THE finest, as a mother whose protective nature should never be underestimated. She, especially, scores in the scenes where she is confronted by the inquisitive cop and then in the final confrontation scene with Luke.

Even the rest of the main cast are fantastic. Grace Anthony is just too good as Sujatha. Jagadeesh, in one of his rare subversive roles, impresses as the calculative cop. Sharafudeen gives a good account of himself while Kottayam Nazeer surprised me with a controlled performance. Sanju Sivram is another notable performer. I wish the film explored a bit more of his sociopathic nature that was established in the first half, but later is relegated into the background when other players emerge.

Yay!

- Mammootty

- Bindu Panicker

- The Supporting Cast

- The Well-Built Mystery

Nay!

- The Slow-Pacing Addled With a Longer Runtime

Final Thoughts

Rorschach's subversiveness in dealing with its central mystery and its undecipherable protagonist makes it a very fascinating and truly intriguing watch. With Mammootty in supreme form, and supported by a fantastic cast, especially Bindu Panicker, Jagadeesh and Grace Antony, Rorschach should be on your watchlist if you don't mind unconventional thrillers that don't bother to give you straight answers.

Rating:3.5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2022 10:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).