Vishal Menon
Stuck between complex and convoluted is this well-made workplace drama. When the film gives a great setup to actors like Asif Ali and Biju Menon, the investigation comes alive, creating real narrative urgency.
They seem to have cracked a code in the way they’ve done this given how quickly we’re immersed into this case. It doesn’t paint all officers as either bad or good, creating within us the sort of curiosity that makes each character worth investing in.
By spending this half hour on its characters, we’re trained to never take anyone lightly. What makes this setup cleverer is how it gets us to think that the crime may or may not have been committed by police officers who are ultimately trained to think like criminals.
Somewhere in the second half, you tend to feel as though you’re wrestling with too much information. Not only are there too many characters by this point but then you find that the film is introducing even more.
But in Thalavan, although the ending remains impossible to imagine, you never feel the twist hit you because you were never given the information to get there by yourself.
If Jis Joy felt out of place making a U-turn with Innale Vare, he’s right at home in the seedy, bloody world of Thalavan. Apparently, this brand ambassador of feel-good cinema is just as good at making you feel bad as well.