If someone mentions one more time that Mammootty, at the age of 71, looks way too stylish, even he will likely be bored. But any description of Rorschach, his new film that released on Friday, October 7, will be largely incomplete if you don’t mention style. You can imagine a generous pouring of the word when Sameer Abdul was writing the script, splendidly penned, weaving style with thrills, making it raw and loud all at the same time. Nissam Basheer, who began with a much-debated debut Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha, makes himself unpredictable by directing a film that is its polar opposite.

Just as the film was about to begin, someone in the theatre shouted, “Show us our god, fast”. The call came from one of the Mammootty fans seated in a front row. As if on cue, his god appeared on screen straight after the titles, unassumingly, without a show of leg-to-head closeup. He has lost his wife, she is missing, says a frantic Mammootty to the local police, introducing himself as Luke Antony. It is a woody place, no one mentions where. There is no forced accent and the villagers simply behave like villagers would when a strange man with a strange story springs into their midst.

Before we go any further into the film, the setting must be described. Shaji Naduvil, the art director and his team, must have gone to great lengths, setting a semi-built eerie house as the centre of all action. The interior is dark and minimalistic, something the school of modern architecture would approve. Outside, the woods and the streams help to add mystery to the lonesome Luke, in stylish clothes, spreading himself over the rocks and facing the sky. Nimish Ravi’s camera zooms out to show Luke as a speck of contrast against the lovely colours of nature.

English songs, composed by Midhun Mukundan, accompany Luke when he makes surprise visits in the village. His main interest is in the house of Dileep, a young man who had died two years ago in an accident, but left a lot of goodwill, a company and a house for the family. Bindu Panicker, a great performer seen little in movies these days, makes a powerful comeback, playing a very concerned mother. Her character Seetha is in some ways a mini version of the infamous Vito Corleone in Mario Puzo’s Godfather, who’d do anything to protect the family.

Watch: Trailer of the film

Nissam puts his powerful women characters in the ordinary garbs of village women, behaving like the typical mother or grieving wife, but exposing their depths when the time comes. Grace Antony, playing Dileep’s wife, barely speaks in many scenes, but when she does, even the monosyllables work wonders. The same technique is used to develop the character of Jagadeesh, a policeman who silently observes the twists and the turns before using words. Another lovely performance is by Kottayam Nazeer, playing a middle-aged unhappy brother-in-law to Dileep. 

Luke remains the pivot of the carefully structured story. You are given his past in bits. Jagadeesh’s police character and Sharaf U Dheen’s loitering character follow Luke’s actions with curiosity. Sometimes a few characters take turns to narrate bits of what they think. It is not misplaced, but it often seems incomplete. They make you wonder about Luke, who with the ease of a trained conman, knocks down his many attackers. The stunts are easy on the eye and Mammootty displays a calmness even when he fights. He lets grief flicker past his face, and instead shows a curious interest in the pursuit of someone. The actor lends Luke mannerisms, expertly allowing little actions to speak loud. Luke is shown a shaky man, his limbs unquiet as he contemplates. He brings chills to the screen by simply moving about the dark house, quick flashes and passing figures doing the rest of the job.

But the chills fade away and Rorschach stops being a scary film, trudging more into a dark genre. The title can be attributed to the concept it originated from – a psychological test performed through inkblots. Or it can be the torn mask Luke and a character in the film wears – patterned like inkblots. With so much care given to every direction, you still find a few unclosed ends, a few inexplicable loopholes. Perhaps because the mystery in the first half of the movie has faded away, the last half doesn’t keep you on tenterhooks and the revelations that come afterward are not as satisfying. Those can be brushed aside, because even otherwise, Rorschach is a very interesting film.

Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the series/film. TNM Editorial is independent of any business relationship the organisation may have with producers or any other members of its cast or crew.