rorschach malayalam movie review

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Rorschach UA

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Rorschach Movie Review : A layered psychological-philosophical thriller

• Times Of India

Rorschach - Official Trailer

Rorschach - Official Teaser

Users' Reviews

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

Sanju Pb 596 days ago

What a movie

Sunil Nambiar 654 days ago

It's out and out copy of Anil kapoor's and Harshwardhan's web series "THAR"....I seriously amused that, no one Talking on that part might be coz, it's in Hindi and Marwari language..!! but This particular malayalam film isn't a novelty thing. It's complate copy...!!

User RAGHU 711 days ago

A Mind Bending Nio-noir Psychological Thriller.

Sylent Screamer 712 days ago

Amazing movie , Mammoka carry the movie on his shoulder along with all the supporting characters of the movie, the direction , storytelling, camera work and location was worth watching

sahadtp 712 days ago

Its like an foriegn movie there have an improvement in malayalam industry and i like it

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‘Rorschach’ Review: Mammootty Steals the Show in This Suspense Thriller

Mammootty's 'rorschach' is an intriguing revenge drama directed by nissam basheer., ‘rorschach’ movie review: mammootty steals the show in this suspense thriller.

‘Rorschach’ in medical terms, is a psychological test that is used to assess a person’s personality traits from their interpretation of an inkblot.

Now consider, the Mammootty-starrer titled the same is the inkblot. What is your perception of the film? How does it make you feel? I think your answer depends on what your characteristics are and how you process your emotions as well.

The story of Rorschach unfolds in a rustic rural backdrop revolving around a foreign-returned Luke Antony (Mammootty). He is in a village which is clouded in mystery, with a mission and is determined to accomplish it.

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Luke is not in a hurry to reveal his character or his goals right away. He and the film take their time to drop the suspense bomb, sit on it to raise our tension, and explode when we least expect it to.

Deploying a compelling visual-storytelling and oscillating between the past and the present in a smooth fashion, Rorschach promises an immersive experience if you are willing to pay the full-attention it deserves.

Still from Rorschach

Photo courtesy: Twitter

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If you stick along with patience, Rorschach lets you experience the joy of connecting the dots at your own terms.

The most interesting aspect of the film is that the director, Nissam Basheer uses confined spaces — Luke’s half-constructed horror house and his haunted mind, to engross us into the Rorschach world.

It isn’t just Mammootty who aces his role as a conflicted protagonist. Other stars in the film including Jagadish, Sharafudheen, Grace Antony, Bindu Panicker, Sanju Sivram, and Kottayam Nazeer score with their convincing performances.

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The detailing of the characters and the casting of the film is impeccable. Almost all of them explore intriguing shades of gray.

Specifically, Bindu Panicker’s role as a mother is applause-worthy. It lets us ask, "To what lengths one can go to protect their family?" We could feel parts of Mohanlal’s Dhrishyam or its Tamil remake Kamal Haasan's , Papanasam when we are watching her sequences for they elucidate such complex emotions.

However, the film does feel like it meanders a bit once you get a hold of the real intentions of every character. But most importantly, Midhun Mukundan’s music adds a whole new dimension to the narrative.

With recent films like Dhanush’s Naane Varuven , Vikram’s Cobra and now Mammootty’s Rorschach , one thing is for sure — it’s raining psychological thrillers in the South film industry. Keep them coming, Keep them unique and interesting. Looking forward for more!

Rorschach is running in cinemas now.

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Rorschach Is A Focused, Compelling Genre-bender That Is Rewarding In Spite of Issues

Director: Nisam Basheer

Writer: Sameer Abdul

Stars: Mammootty, Grace Antony, Sharafudheen

Mammootty , after Puzhu from earlier this year, is assuredly back with another character who invites strong contempt from the viewer. Luke Antony is a man engulfed by the idea of vengeance. He’ll go to unimaginable, twisted lengths to fulfill his idea of avenging his wife’s murder. This might sound like a simple revenge story, but Nisam Basheer’s film is a genre-shifting, layered, and technically ambitious attempt at the same. It has obvious nudges towards being a psychological study, veers into supernatural territory, and also has good reasons to identify as a family drama.

Luke Antony is a complex human, but a one-note protagonist. It’s his arrival to a new place that affects those around him, and not the other way round. It’s the classic story of an outsider wreaking havoc on a tranquil place. He is on a self-anointed mission to bring a man down, and he won’t stop until he achieves it. There’s no change waiting to happen in him, no catharsis that he finds. But the film peels into him gradually. Whenever it delves into his past, it only gives us flashes. He has received white room torture. He was framed and maybe a fugitive. He might have driven all the way from Dubai to Kerala. All these pieces of information don’t get dumped on us in one large chunk of flashback, but are rather sprinkled through the narrative. This lends a level of complexity to the character that might not actually be in the writing.

If there’s one thing that comes across prominently, it’s the makers’ aesthetic sensibilities. All of Midhun Mukundan’s alluringly gloomy tracks have English lyrics. The editing feels composed. The cinematography is a lot about style but it never gets in the way of the storytelling. I particularly love the way they indicate the arrival of a ghost. It’s a familiar situation but is made out to be visually appealing, with the delicate change in colour grade and swift camera work. Even the choice of colours and props makes for a very memorable visual experience, one that is minimal and tastefully stylised. The grey car, the unfinished grey house, and the pronounced costumes, are solid contributions on this front. One element that is a mismatch from this sensibility is Luke’s dead wife, whose presence I found to be a tad bit melodramatic and slightly dumbed-down in tone, in an otherwise realistic film.

We start the film with Luke’s perspective, and the structure then begins to adopt the perspectives of the villagers with their voiceovers. This behaviour isn’t consistent throughout the film, and I wish a couple of characters would’ve gotten more weightage for their narration. After the whole deal about Luke’s motives is revealed at the interval, where the film announces that it is functioning in a supernatural space, the thread starts to get stagnant. There’s no substantial progress in Luke’s attempts at taunting Dileep. Even the bits of action, though unique, get tedious because of how absorbing the psychological exploration has been until then.

But post such instances, there are other threads that begin to shine. The drama between the characters surrounding Luke take the lead and are far more compelling than the primary tale of revenge. The corrupt cop, the local guy who runs on instinct, the guilty brother-in-law, they’re all etched with enough heft. But it’s the women who stand out distinctly in the latter half of the film. Bindu Panicker’s Seetha is a well-conceived character. We see her going from an archetypal mother to a lethal parent who has sculpted both her sons to her worldview. It’s a powerful role filled with surprises, delivered in an impressively engaging manner by the actor.

Grace Antony’s Sujatha is also notable for her refusal to accommodate or take things lightly in spite of conforming to certain proposals that will get her what she wants. The actor is amazing in conveying decisions economically. Sujatha, who is a widower trying to hold together her late husband’s dwindling factory, faces a moment where she’s looked down upon by her mother-in-law for even considering the idea of a second marriage. A realisation hits her that she’s going to receive absolutely no validation from her in-laws for taking care of their son’s legacy. In that moment, she’s slightly bewildered due to being under the impression that she doesn’t owe them anything. On sensing that they’re feeling entitled to her actions and decisions, something snaps in her. In the next scene, we see her married - An almost repulsive decision, considering the man she is marrying has made her physically uncomfortable on multiple occasions. Though this can be seen coming, all this decision-making is held together in that single shot of Grace Antony overhearing her mother-in-law’s rant. It’s a terrific performance, to say the least.

Mammootty pitches Luke on a casual note, without any idiosyncrasies. He’s essaying a character with a god complex, for how Luke thinks he deserves his own judgement even after god has, very apparently, delivered his. But he sells the character’s unhinged nature with an unceremonious and remarkably controlled demeanour. It’s also not a very surprising performance coming after the slightly more complex Puzhu , where an inhuman Kuttan operates far closer to reality.

The final moment that the film ends with, is a classic winking-at-the-audience situation where the story reveals that it might not be over yet, and that the events we just followed to an end, have the potential to continue. Whenever a film does this, I’ve always considered it to be an unwarranted cheap thrill, and it isn’t any different in this film. In the penultimate scene, Sharafudeen’s character addresses a certain ambiguity about Luke’s actions in a voiceover, and this feels like a stronger moment to end on, as opposed to the attempt at a cliffhanger.

The idea of the film, about how obsession can consume a human, comes across effectively. The story justifies the title, with Luke’s entry to the village resulting in a lot being revealed about its people than the actual case he is supposedly there for – a missing wife, to be read as a Rorschach inkblot test to the villagers. This is a convincing genre-bender that has issues, but it’s a film that is ultimately rewarding for its unwavering focus and sincerity in presenting an uncommon aesthetic.

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Rorschach movie review: Mammootty’s terrific performance finds a match in Bindu Panicker

Rorschach review: mammootty magnificently embodies the psychological condition of a man with bottomless vengeance..

How can one review a film like Rorschach without spoiling certain aspects of the movie? Screenwriter Sameer Abdul has pieced together such a delicious puzzle in a way that a small revelation could just unravel the whole plot. Wait, no scratch that. Even if I tell you the whole story right now, you would still be surprised by how it all plays out. That’s how twisted and diabolic this film is.

In simple terms, Rorschach is a revenge thriller. But, describing it like that is barely scratching the surface. Director Nissam Basheer and Sameer dig way deeper to reveal the darkest parts of the human psyche. At one point, you feel like is this film ever gonna end? No, you don’t feel that way because the narration is too long or dull. It’s because you will be shocked at the possibilities of how far a human being can go when he’s consumed by vengeance. How does revenge work? In a traditional sense, if somebody hurt you, you hurt them back, call it equal and move on. But, what if even the death of the person, who tormented you, doesn’t end your thirst for vengeance? What if you never want to let your enemy find peace even in his death? What if you are ready to thrust your arms to the depths of hell and pull out the very soul of the person that wronged you and then subject him to more pain and torture? Then, you wonder, if it will ever end.

Mammootty magnificently embodies the psychological condition of a man with bottomless vengeance. Luke Antony (Mammootty) is stuck in his life just like his car, which has crashed into a tree just off the road and remains there, refusing to move. Luke is searching for his missing wife, who we are told is pregnant. She’s gone missing after the car crash. The cops are scratching their heads as they are unable to find the missing woman. And Luke refuses to leave the town without finding her. An otherwise sleepy town is now buzzing with gossip and theories about Luke and his ulterior motives.

Luke is a very difficult character to like. This film puts us in a very tough spot. While we understand Luke’s emotional state, it’s hard to come to terms with everything he does in pursuit of his vengeance. His revenge doesn’t just want to end the life of his enemy but defile every memory that he ever left behind on earth. And he goes to great lengths to achieve it. While he shows shades of goodness, his insidiousness and malevolence are hard to forgive.

Another actor who shines equally, if not more than Mammootty, is Bindu Panicker. Her character transformation is dizzying, especially the final reveal that brings out the main source of this unfathomable pain and suffering is jaw-dropping. Who knew a mother’s love could be such powerful poison?

Composer Midhun Mukundan deserves a special mention as his background score is terrific. The musical cues blend in with every scene and add to the unfolding mystery wonderfully.

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Rorschach review: Mammootty’s thriller is dark and interesting

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.

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The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply The Movie is about Luke Anthony who has a mysterious past and is out on a mission to seek revenge from someone who has destroyed him deeply

• Nissam Basheer
• Sameer Abdul
• Grace Antony
• 61 User reviews
• 7 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

Top cast 31

• Luke Antony

• Head Cost. Ashraf

• Seetha Balan

• Dileep Balan

• Sophia Luke

• Sujatha's Mother

• Sujatha's Father
• (as Keerikkadan Jose)

• Satheeshan's Mother
• Rasheed - Robber's Father

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Lead cast Luke (Mammootty) reel surname and his reel wife Sujatha (Grace) real surname are same: Antony.
• Alternate versions The UK release was cut, the distributor chose to make cuts to scenes of strong violence, injury detail and threat in order to obtain a 12A classification. An uncut 15 classification was available.
• Soundtracks In My Arms Written by Sameer Abdul Produced by Midhun Mukundan Performed by Sameer Abdul

User reviews 61

• Oct 6, 2022
• How long is Rorschach? Powered by Alexa
• October 7, 2022 (India)
• Official Facebook
• Mammootty Kampany
• Wayfarer Films
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• ₹120,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 30 minutes
• Dolby Atmos

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Rorschach Movie Review: Mammootty captivates in a refreshingly twisted gothic revenge thriller

Rating: ( 4 / 5).

A few months before the release of Rorschach , I had heard little whispers of its plot from a couple of industry insiders. I found the concept interesting, and I was curious not only to see how director Nisam Basheer -- who made his debut with the polarising Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha -- would pull it off but also how Kerala audiences would react to it. Now, I'm not someone who looks at the initial reactions on social media before writing a review -- because I don't want anyone else's opinions colouring my own -- so I'm not aware of others' Rorschach experience. I'm only sure of mine: fulfilling, not only because it tickled the film buff in me that loves an unconventional genre fusion but also because the makers have pulled it off without making it seem too inaccessible. Oh, and I promise not to spill any spoilers.

Director: Nisam Basheer

Cast: Mammootty, Grace Antony, Bindu Panicker, Jagadish, Sharafudheen

What is Rorschach ? Well, many things. Off the top of my head -- part revenge thriller, part gothic ghost story, part dysfunctional family drama, part dark comedy, and part crime noir... I might find more on a revisit. Anyway, it's incredible how all of these elements come well together in Rorschach ; but look beneath the veneer of genre-blending, and we see three different families with ideological and temperamental differences and an astonishing capacity for evil. By the time we get to the finale, most of these characters evolve into people they were not at the story's beginning.

In the opening scene, when Mammootty's Luke Antony walks into a police station and reports being in an accident and his wife missing, we and every character who comes into contact with him believe him. But we'll soon learn there is a much larger story behind it. Luke isn't hasty to tell it, and neither is the film. It wants to go at the same pace as him. It throws at us disparate images that at first glance seem disjointed, but if you're patient and attentive enough -- don't look at the phone and complain later -- everything will begin to make sense. You'll see the significance of some juxtaposition choices or why some scenes were so brief and sparse with the revelation of information.

I mentioned earlier about Rorschach being a portrait of families. The film gives us more information about them than it does about Luke, and I don't mean this in a negative way. The title ' Rorschach ' also makes sense once the end credits roll. Luke was on a mission, but his arrival also brought out the distasteful facets in some individuals. In that sense, its behaviour is similar to that of a Western. You know, the story of that lone mysterious stranger arriving at a small town to shake things up? 

In Rorschach , we learn about a family with a devilish streak running through them for generations. They carry it around like a curse. At one point, a mother declares that her children are her carbon copies and they are capable of everything she is. As this mother, Bindu Panicker gives us a profoundly unsettling performance that eerily recalls Jacki Weaver from the Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom. And there is Jagadish as a quietly functioning police constable whose true intentions, once evident, gives his character a whole new dimension. It takes a while for him to say something, but when he does, he makes you more curious. It's the most impressive I've seen the actor in a long time. 

The film's storytelling, too, reflects the idiosyncratic nature of its protagonist. Rorschach reveals information about Luke in an incremental fashion. Sometimes the film catches us off guard by simultaneously running past and present events from his life. There are films where this approach -- where no title card informs us which event is past or present -- failed miserably, but in Rorschach , it works perfectly. It's a classic case of relying more on visual storytelling than exposition. That said, the film has its share of moments where the characters say things that guide us, but at the same time, the script is careful not to say it all at once and ruin the fun. Just as he does with every character he meets, Luke taunts us until it's time for him to tell us what happened in his life and his plans. 

The only information we know about Luke initially is that something tragic has befallen him. And then we ask: Who is he? How can he fight so well? What's his interest in two particular families? Why does he want to live in a haunted house? Why is he using someone's skull as an ashtray? We get the answers, all in good time, but it also doesn't forget to keep some things open-ended. That's where the fun is, right?

Speaking of fun, for a film about unlikeable characters and tragic events, Rorschach is not overwhelmingly depressing -- at least, not for me. It seems to relish its dark energy and revel in its gothic environment, just like its leading man. And Mammootty plays Luke with a measure of mischief, creepiness, and daring that you begin to remember some moments from Vidheyan , Thaniyavarthanam , Bhoothakkandi , or Munnariyippu .

Cinematographer Nimish Ravi, who has already proved himself adept at working comfortably with dark subjects ( Luca, Kurup ), once again demonstrates his supreme abilities in Rorschach with a work that's remarkably not repetitive. He bathes characters in enough shadows and amber to make them seem like they are Satan's children. Blacks and greys dominate the colour palette, starting with Luke's luxury car. His residence resembles more of a grim mausoleum than a home -- like a sort of 'limbo' in which 'the man in black' can pronounce his judgement. 

I also found the choice of using English songs in the soundtrack -- by Midhun Mukundan, who recently worked on the brilliant Kannada gangster drama Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana -- refreshing. The makers' attempt at ignoring the usual tendency of having music "relatable" for Malayali/Indian audiences is admirable. Perhaps this choice suggests a character trait of Luke. What if these are his favourite songs? After all, we are in his world, aren't we?