Black movie review: Jiiva movie Black hit screens on Friday.
The best part of Black is how it reels you in right in the first ten minutes. The film starts in 1964. There is a couple eloping with the help of a friend (Vivek Prasanna). It is raining like crazy. Their journey is briefly interrupted by a vehicle in the ditch. This vehicle carries a marble statue of a guardian angel. There is thunder and lightning. Soon enough, this friend, who has sinister intentions, hears two gunshots. He rushes in to ask the couple what happened? Cut to black. Literally. The title credits pop up, and we are in 2024.
Now, the stage is set with the right amount of intrigue because, of course, you know this prologue will have a payoff. But before that, we have to be introduced to the protagonists of the present — Vasanth and Aaranya. If the opening of the 1964 phase was sinister in its setting, the 2024 timeline begins with Vasanth being interrogated by the cops over the disappearance of his wife, Aaranya. When the cop (Yog Japee) asks what happened to his wife, Vasanth simply says, “I don’t know how to make you understand.” The film cuts to the brief introduction to the lives of Vasanth and Aaranya, their relationship, a bar fight, two songs, a lead to the reason for them to leave the safe confines of their city house to suddenly be the only inhabitants of a row of beach villas, the first power cut, the static electricity, random occurrences, and bam! we are back to the police station in no time. Director KG Balasubramani presents to us a very knotty affair in Black, and tries to neatly unravel it all by the time the end credits pop up.
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On this front, Balasubramani is very effective, especially since the narrative is wittingly convoluted with a mix-and-match of genres and a ‘high-concept’ premise. It has elements of horror, and the judicious use of jump scares. It has elements of a thriller in ensuring the unpredictability is actually intriguing rather than disengaging. It has elements of a sci-fi with names of Schrodinger and Bermuda Triangle thrown into the mix, but never once tries too hard to impress. It has elements of a romantic tragedy since we know the happiness of the couple is just superficial right from the first time we meet them. It has elements of a road-rage film too. And impressively, Black manages to be all of this, and yet always has something up its sleeve to keep us on the edge of our seats.
Black is the official remake of the 2013 English film, Coherence, but I would suggest people to not read anything about it before watching the film, because for such movies, it is the surprise factor that is most important. However, Balasubramani does the basics right by adapting the original script to cater to both a new audience and ones that have already watched the original. The changes in the writing are actually quite effective because reducing the characters to just a couple changes the dynamics of the narrative. Even though the film runs the risk of feeling repetitive, the writing ensures we are too invested in the plights of the protagonist, and empathize with their predicament.
The biggest support system for the filmmaker in this endeavour is his strong technical team, and his actors. Priya, fresh off the success of Demonte Colony 2, proves that she has the acting chops that perfectly fit a suspense thriller. In such films, it is not just important to sell the shock and trepidation, but also get the wide-eyed stares and loud shrieks right, and Priya is on point. Black also proves that there is no genre that Jiiva doesn’t feel natural at. He is completely at home in this home invasion-type of a film, and it is on their shoulders that Balasubramani mounts a rather ambitious debut. The performances get even more elevated thanks to the wonderful work of cinematographer Gokul Benoy, editor Philomin Raj, and composer Sam CS. The three of them are so much in sync, and it is their work that ensures we never feel a sense of lethargy while watching a similar scene unfold for the 13th time. More often than not, Sam is terrific in this genre, and Black is one of the more meatier films to have come his way in recent times, and he delivers.
But not all is hunky dory with Black mainly because of certain choices that feel hurried, and more of a cop out. Take, for instance, the recall to the prologue. It feels a bit too verbose, and rushed. The writing plays around with the rules of the film’s world, and it is a bit too conveniently wrapped up. The highs of the build up to the end isn’t really felt to the same levels when the punchline is dropped. Yes, there is an epilogue after the credits start rolling, and it is an interesting setup, for sure. But the resolution to the film feels rather rushed. It is almost like buying a nice and thoughtful gift, getting a fantastic and wonderful wrapping paper, ironing out the edges, and slightly messing up the bow on top.
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Nevertheless, Black is one of the more assured debuts in recent times, and when read alongside the other films backed by Potential Studios — Maya, Maanagaram, Monster, Taanakkaaran, and Irugapatru — it feels perfectly at par with the quality.
Black movie cast: Jiiva, Priya Bhavanishankar, Vivek Prasanna, Yog Japee
Black movie director: KG Balasubramani
Black movie rating: 3.5
