PSYCHO (2020)

Critic - No.179

Director: Mysskin
Produced by: Arun Mozhi Manickam (Double Meaning Productions)
Casts: Udhayanidhi Stalin, Aditi Rao Hydari, Nithya Menon, Ram, Sigampuli, Rajkumar Pitchumani, Renuka
Language: Tamil
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Genre: Crime, Thriller

SYNOPSIS: 
Gautham (Udhayanidhi Stalin), a visually challenged man races against time to save Dakini (Aditi Rao Hydari), the woman he loves from a psychopathic serial killer.

REVIEW:
Mysskin’s Psycho begins with Albert Maslov’s quote – ‘We are simultaneously gods and worms’. He defines his antagonist, the psycho, Angulimala as a God, albeit a ruthless one, in front of his victims, and a worm, in the presence of the people who has created him to be one. Unlike other psychopath-based crime thrillers where the audience play a guessing game to find out the killer, Mysskin opens the films with Anguli hacking his victims and collecting their heads as trophies. He kidnaps Dakini, a radio jockey, who is about to accept the love of Gautham, a visually challenged man, whom she had initially turned down for stalking her.

Mysskin sets the urgency quite early in the film and keeps us at the edge of the seat as Anguli continues to kill more women, leaving Gautham and the cops stunned. The blood splatters, beheadings and the silences offer well-crafted thrilling set pieces that offer effective scares. Mysskin goes merciless in the killing scenes keeping the shock level quite consistent till the end. Ilaiyaraja’s heart pumping score doesn’t let us breathe a second. Mysskin ticks off all the necessary ingredients needed to craft a disturbing thriller.

Yes, he gets it almost all right in when it comes to the genre convention of a crime thriller but where he fumbles is the character development. The romantic track of Gautham and Dakini never really picks up at any point of time. The lead characters lack chemistry and the love scenes lack conviction. Kudos to Ilaiyaraja who gives a soul-stirring ‘Unna Nenachu’ song that tries to enhance the lifeless romance between them. The problem becomes deeper when we start to feel numb when Gautham is frantically searching for Dakini. If only their bond had some depth, the film would have been more emotionally connecting.

Other characters like the quadriplegic ex-cop, Kamala Das (Nithya Menon) and diligent cop, Muthu (Ram) doesn’t really help the proceedings of the protagonist to solve the crime. Instead, they appear eccentric and offer some harmless dry humour here and there to lighten the rather dark world of Psycho. Even though Mysskin sets up a rather murky but intriguing back story for the Psycho, due to the lack of detailing, the climax become theatrical and rushed. Logical gaps are something that you don’t usually see much in Mysskin’s films but here they are strongly visible.

That said, Mysskin flexes his strong film language through intertextual references and traces of adaptation of Indian mythologies and Buddism. Just like how in Ramayanam, Ravanan lure Sita with deer, here the killer uses dogs. Just like how Raman gets the ring, Gautham gets Dakini’s ring. Gautham and Angulimala, the names clearly tell us that the basic theme is from Buddhism. The concept of sin and redemption in the Bible has also been referenced by Mysskin. I loved the way he humanises psychopaths and even classifies parents who honour kill as one.

Performance wise, Aditi Rao is a terrific cast as Dakini who brings out the vulnerability and tenacity of the character. Udhay is fine and his acting is getting more refined by each film. Nithya and Ram doesn’t have much scope with the former given a very thin but entertaining role that staggers to fit in the narration. Of course, Rajkumar as the psychopath steals the show appearing with a blank, merciless face that doesn’t give out any clue of his psyche.

What intends to conclude high in emotion like the director’s previous solid flick, Pisasu (2014), falls flat due to the lack of proper character set ups. Mysskin tries to stuff many incidents and symbolism without any emotional backing in 2 hours which results in a half-baked thriller that leaves many plot points open.

VERDICT:
Mysskin once again displays a strong command over the crime thriller genre in Psycho even if it doesn’t punch you in the gut as intended.

CELLULOID METER- 3/5: