Forensic Review

Forensic is a Malayalam film released on 28th February, 2020 in Kerala and other parts of the World. The movie received high appreciation in the original language and it seemed to be highly relevant to the situation that is prevailing in the Country, right now. As the film has an universal subject and appeals to wider range of audiences and not just Malayalam people, movie was dubbed into Telugu by Aha OTT platform for Telugu audiences.

Film is an investigation drama that majority revolves around a flawed relationship. Human emotions take over the investigation and how to stay rational during such situations becomes the point. Now, let's discuss about the movie merits and de-merits.

Story::

Plot of the film revolves around an incident that happened ten years ago. A young boy is thrown out of his home by his father for engaging in illegal experimentation on animals. He kills his father as an adult in present time and then we witness brutal murders of two young college girls on city outskirts.

Officer Rithika Xavier (Mamatha Mohandas) takes up the case of the murders and she is assigned Samuel John (Tovino Thomas) as her forensic expert. Both of them are connected by a troubling past and it becomes an hurdle in investigation constantly. They both have to figure out a way to work together and identify the killer. Is it the same person who killed his father? If so, why? Watch the film, to know the answers ...

Analysis::

Movie relies heavily on the performances of the experienced cast like Mamata Mohandas and Tovino Thomas to take us through the later half of the run-time. The narration is too slow to really keep audiences on the edge for entire duration but the timely twists help you to watch it without switching to other tasks which means the film does engage you but it won't blow your mind off. It is one of the few investigative dramas from Indian Cinema that entirely depend on the scientific accuracy than just make believe logics in the hope that audiences will enjoy the film no matter.

While the accuracies help you well in engaging the audience members some times they do kill the thrill of watching a film, especially, if the narration seems too slow. As it is on the OTT platforms you have the option to stop, rewind or even jump ahead. Still, the overall experience of watching a tight gripping investigative drama is lost with non-sensical de tours from the main plot.

Directors Akhil Paul and Anas Khan started off the movie well but lost the sight off what they wanted to achieve as the narration progresses. If they could trim down some unnecessary threads in the film, the movie would have been rated among the best. Performances by Tovino Thomas and Mamatha Mohandas deserve special mention. Especially, Mamata's ease on screen is astonishing as she grew leaps and bounds from how she used to perform when she started out in Telugu Cinema. Tovino has delightful screen presence.

Verdict:

Movie works because of the performances of the cast than the narration. This could have easily been a must watch with even tighter screenplay. Still it is an engaging film despite flaws like slow pace and unwanted de tours. You can give it a try on a lazy weekend.