Rorschach is a very strange film in terms of its story which hits and misses the mark at the same time. Its part psychological thriller, part character study and the latter pays off, thanks to a superb act from trustworthy Mammootty and an equally competing act from Bindu Panicker. We all know how unfair the world can be, sometimes people take justice into their own hands. They find a sense of satisfaction in payback and they wont stop until the last blood. But here the key is not the payback but whom it is against. That part is a hard to digest one. One thing is very sure, Mammootty's character choices this year has been great and he has fitted well in these newly formed negative shades. Next will be a Rolex act.
The story unfolds when Mammootty approaches a police station in a small village for lodging a missing person complaint. He narrates a story of accident and when the police force search results turn negative, he decides to stay back and do his own Sherlock Holmes. The motive , the rest of the event and how you interpret the real meaning of films title forms the crux. Till interval it was a great watch for me as we get to see the peeling of layers slowly. The interval block will be a (surprise or a bonkers) and there on wards from a story perceptive it drowns.
But some of the nourishing ensemble cast and their performances saves a lot of the second half. I am impressed by the director Nissam Basheer, who has come up with a unique genre-bender. It may feel super weird story and he plays with human psyche. The grey shade characters are superbly utilized across the board. Now i doubt how the audience will interpret the whole maneuvering part and the moral divide is questionable. If you are looking for plain b&w answers then you will be disappointed. What i hated the most is the overpowering BGM and the dragging second part where you dont empathize with the protagonist. The scenes with his wife lacks an emotional impact. The second big detriment was how the presence of unknown being showcased, the over-powering and under-powering act kept fluctuating without any rhythm or real purpose. The so called strange cat and mouse game did not jell with me at all.
The tile name actually means a projective assessment test done to evaluate a personality traits, it tries to dig deep into ones mind. The director cleverly conceals many aspects of this but bits and pieces are being shown in the narrative to make out. There is a single shot of white room torture which accounts for the main protagonist background. Here there is no moral cushion and boundaries. I dont know what to make out of the title with the plot, so its either the village journey itself is the actual test or post test Mammootty realizes what he needs to do in the village. The mood building, technical aspects and some of the sound tracks are crafted well. Overall its not every ones cup of tea and box office success is a big question mark. In the end it didn't give me a sense of full satisfaction in this vengeance of a different kind.
Verdict - 3/5(A schizophrenia act?)