I, Nobody review: Prithviraj, a nobody, has a plan but the film doesn't
I, Nobody review: Director Nisam Basheer's I, Nobody, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Vijayaraghavan, is a heist thriller that doubles up as a social commentary. While the premise and its treatment warrant your attention, the story is dragged well beyond its potential.
The world always teaches you that you are a nobody in the larger scheme of things. Prithviraj Sukumaran and Parvathy's I, Nobody explores a similar theme, but goes one step ahead to ask a much-needed question: What does a nobody have to do to get justice? In one of the film's crucial scenes, a police official explains to Prithviraj's Rajeevan the concept of the food chain – but with a twist. The grasshopper, at the bottom of the pyramid, should not just eat grass. It should eat the frog that preys on it. That's how cut-throat the world is.
Rajeevan is a government employee and a father of two daughters, Jiya and Amala. His wife Meera juggles household chores, her own work and the children, all while not being on speaking terms with her husband. As they navigate their everyday life in silence, a bank heist happens – and all the links point to Rajeevan.
One thing leads to another, and Rajeevan is branded a criminal, with police frequently turning up at his home. Meera pleads with him to reveal what he knows. He stays mum. What is his role in the heist? If he is innocent, how does a simple man get out of a situation where every lead points to him? All of this is answered over the course of two hours and 48 minutes.
I, Nobody is a slow-burn heist drama. The story takes a while to settle down, but when it does, it draws you in. Rajeevan may look like an ordinary man, but his nuanced expressions and sharp mind signal early that he has a bigger role to play in the heist. Rather than focussing on how the heist was planned and executed, director Nissam Basheer shifts the lens to what is going on inside Rajeevan's head and how he intends to walk away unscathed.
Rajeevan is not a superhuman – he is beaten, bruised, but clear-headed enough to know that his one mistake cannot cost his wife and children. I, Nobody works best as a character study of this man. Meera, too, is not just a housewife and a caregiver. She has a mind of her own and does not hesitate to reprimand Rajeevan when his choices spill over into her life and her children's.
Writer Sameer Abdul's choice of non-linear narration builds momentum effectively in the first half. Post-interval, however, the film drags. Every reveal is spelt out and then shown again, pushing you to think 'we get it, move on' before the next one arrives. By the time the last act comes, the pay-off is not as effective as it intends to be. Dinesh Purushothaman's cinematography is one of the film's genuine strengths – the lift fight sequence and the tracking slow-motion shots, supported by Nixon George's sound design, are among I, Nobody's best moments.
Prithviraj delivers a restrained performance, but a one-note expression through much of the film dilutes its overall impact. Parvathy, as Meera, is convincing on every level — as a woman, a wife and a mother – and delivers one of the best performances in the film. The supporting cast does justice to their respective roles without much room to stretch.
I, Nobody could easily have been 30 minutes shorter. It overstays its welcome, and that keeps it from the greatness it clearly has the ambition for. The promise of a heist thriller with a fresh screenplay treatment is real – the stumble in the last act is what stops it from getting there.
The world always teaches you that you are a nobody in the larger scheme of things. Prithviraj Sukumaran and Parvathy's I, Nobody explores a similar theme, but goes one step ahead to ask a much-needed question: What does a nobody have to do to get justice? In one of the film's crucial scenes, a police official explains to Prithviraj's Rajeevan the concept of the food chain – but with a twist. The grasshopper, at the bottom of the pyramid, should not just eat grass. It should eat the frog that preys on it. That's how cut-throat the world is.
Rajeevan is a government employee and a father of two daughters, Jiya and Amala. His wife Meera juggles household chores, her own work and the children, all while not being on speaking terms with her husband. As they navigate their everyday life in silence, a bank heist happens – and all the links point to Rajeevan.
One thing leads to another, and Rajeevan is branded a criminal, with police frequently turning up at his home. Meera pleads with him to reveal what he knows. He stays mum. What is his role in the heist? If he is innocent, how does a simple man get out of a situation where every lead points to him? All of this is answered over the course of two hours and 48 minutes.
I, Nobody is a slow-burn heist drama. The story takes a while to settle down, but when it does, it draws you in. Rajeevan may look like an ordinary man, but his nuanced expressions and sharp mind signal early that he has a bigger role to play in the heist. Rather than focussing on how the heist was planned and executed, director Nissam Basheer shifts the lens to what is going on inside Rajeevan's head and how he intends to walk away unscathed.
Rajeevan is not a superhuman – he is beaten, bruised, but clear-headed enough to know that his one mistake cannot cost his wife and children. I, Nobody works best as a character study of this man. Meera, too, is not just a housewife and a caregiver. She has a mind of her own and does not hesitate to reprimand Rajeevan when his choices spill over into her life and her children's.
Writer Sameer Abdul's choice of non-linear narration builds momentum effectively in the first half. Post-interval, however, the film drags. Every reveal is spelt out and then shown again, pushing you to think 'we get it, move on' before the next one arrives. By the time the last act comes, the pay-off is not as effective as it intends to be. Dinesh Purushothaman's cinematography is one of the film's genuine strengths – the lift fight sequence and the tracking slow-motion shots, supported by Nixon George's sound design, are among I, Nobody's best moments.
Prithviraj delivers a restrained performance, but a one-note expression through much of the film dilutes its overall impact. Parvathy, as Meera, is convincing on every level — as a woman, a wife and a mother – and delivers one of the best performances in the film. The supporting cast does justice to their respective roles without much room to stretch.
I, Nobody could easily have been 30 minutes shorter. It overstays its welcome, and that keeps it from the greatness it clearly has the ambition for. The promise of a heist thriller with a fresh screenplay treatment is real – the stumble in the last act is what stops it from getting there.
