- Date of Release: 02 April 2021
- Genre: Mystery, Psychological, Thriller
- Language: Malayalam
- Watch On: Netflix
Irul
Introduction
It will not be wrong to say that this year(in its short span) has been a breakthrough year for the Malayalam industry. A pocket sized industry that keeps generating great content each week and is arguably the flag bearer of Indian Cinema is finally starting to get its due. It is another Friday and with its comes a set of new releases and first up I have just finished watching The new Malayalam Film Irul on Netflix. Is it worth your time, stay tuned.
Story & Screenplay
The story of Irul can be categorised into the following words – a stormy night, 3 individuals, one spooky house and one dead body. The premise of the story is tremendous also eerily similar to the 1999 Hindi Film Kaun. The screenplay is such that there is a lot of build in the first hour. The tremendous premise backed by build up reminded me of the story telling technique of Quentin Tarantino. While the first hour promised a mysteriously gripping second half, things did pick up after the twist at the halfway mark(even though the plot has major loopholes). The tension is maintained through the second half amidst some technically brilliant scenes and outstanding cinematography. You are left wondering and confused as to who the culprit is, but the climax and the grand revelation is a downer. I was surprised at why did the writers opt for a safe ending when they could have easily opted for a risky ending which you usually would associate with Malayalam Cinema. Sometime back a Malayalam Movie Love risked a regular ending that had made my movie watching experience memorable. Sadly here that isn’t the case which results in some good work through the screenplay is undone at the end.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are meandering and here it us a good thing as it keeps you guessing. I enjoyed the BGM too. Director Naseef Yusuf Izuddin has done a good job but he majorly falters at the end. An open end would have been great and would have had the audiences guessing and discussing, but that wasn’t the case.
Performances
This is a three character film and all three are outstanding. Darshana Rajendran as Archana is fabulous and it is through her role that the audience is left guessing. And she looks very pretty! Soubin Shahir as Alex is outstanding in another complex role with many layers. And Fahadh Faasil is one of the best actors that we have in our country and he is again brilliant here as Unni. It is amazing how the three of them feed off each other so well, really a treat to watch.
Conclusion
I had sky high expectations from Irul but despite it being a decently good watch and technically brilliant, it falls a notch short of my expectations. Available on Netflix.