Anomie review: Bhavana starrer crime thriller is high concept, low impact
Anomie: The Equation of Death is a Malayalam crime thriller starring Bhavana Menon in the lead role. Directed by debutant Riyaz Marath, the film is a below average crime thriller that promises gold but delivers only brass (in slow motion).
It’s debatable which genre of cinema is the hardest to write for, but comedy and crime thrillers are definitely at the top. What a writer-director finds funny may easily be found by a mute crowd, just as what is considered intelligent and interesting may draw gasps – not of shock, but of weariness. Bhavna Menon’s Anomie: the equation of death Sadly, it falls into the latter category, creating more exhaustion than intrigue with its 150-minute runtime and highly entertaining presentation.
Zara (Bhavna Menon) is a forensic expert who is dealing with the death of her parents in a tragic accident. Her brother Gian (Shebin Benson), still trying to deal with the loss, is in therapy and is mentally unstable, having attempted suicide several times due to the trauma. Zara’s life revolves around her work and Zaayan, for whom she even keeps aside her love life with Alby (Arjun Lal).
Jibran (Rahman) is a lazy police officer who wants to close his cases as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Once a respected investigator, he has now transformed into a policeman who appears to be absolutely untrustworthy. Zara and Jibran’s paths cross when a death occurs around them, which appears to be a case of suicide. Soon after, Jian goes missing and is found dead at the same place where his parents’ accident occurred. While both cases are written off as suicide, Zara notices a pattern and starts digging deeper.
What did Zara find when she personally investigated the matter? Are the two deaths linked? Did Jian really kill himself, or is there an alien hand in it? Will Gibran bring back his A game to solve the case? The answers to these questions – and a few more – are presented with a background score and effects that try to make the film seem more complex than it is, as well as cinematography that at certain moments makes the plot resemble an advertisement or music video shoot. Anomie: the equation of death.
anomie is overly self-indulgent, because the makers are sure they have a masterpiece, presenting the film as if every moment is guaranteed to be Superman’s grand superhero landing – full of random slow-motion shots, thumping background score and extra flair. Ironically, this very approach becomes its kryptonite. These quirks make the 150-minute runtime feel like an eternity. Debutant writer-director Riyas Marath has managed to craft a good story at its core, but it fails due to an overwrought screenplay and uneven direction.
Every crime thriller follows a certain pace, whether it’s a crisp, fast-paced film or a film with slow-burn intensity. anomie Not there. It gets all emotional, then switches to pure investigation mode, gets into establishing another character, jumps back into the investigation, throws in a massive action sequence, and then is padded out with random “music video” shots – sometimes in the bathtub, under the shower, in the basement, or even during something as simple as Zara braiding her hair.
It makes sense that these moments are meant to depict characters thinking or preparing to do something dynamic, but the random integration of an ad-like aesthetic doesn’t quite sit right. The fault, I believe, lies in the pitch of the story, where a well-written story turns into a messy thriller under the burden of a “high concept”.
equation of death—One can imagine that when the title tag line is something like this, it will be an integral part of the film. It’s integral, but by the time we get to it, it’s barely interesting anymore. A detailed explanation of its significance at the end might have had some impact if the script had done the grunt work of laying out the breadcrumbs. However, this explanation is something that has already been practically shown in a Hollywood movie from the mid-2010s (Chap).
The film starts with Bhavana starring Bhavana and ends with Bhavana starring him, but for a large part in between – especially the second half – it seems to forget about him and replace Rahman in the lead role. Was it meant to be a proper dual-perspective investigative thriller? The makers try for this, but end up with messy editing that is occasionally good but mostly disappointing. Amidst all this, continuity issues feel like the last nail in the coffin.
Bhavana Menon and Rahman also do a good job with their acting. Both the actors carry the burden of keeping the audience engaged and manage to cross the finish line. Rahman, in particular, does well in presenting the complexity of his character. Emotion, which is the focus of the story, also effectively conveys vulnerability and strength.
Many of the demerits listed above are also due to shortcomings of the technical departments. Cinematographer Sujit Sarang has an eye for good looking frames, but at most places these visuals do not gel with the story of the film. Harshvardhan Rameshwar’s music suits the high-concept title rather than blending with the on-screen situations. Editor Kiran Das does a tremendous job, as he never fails to keep the pace engaging by opting for flair rather than solid content.
overall, anomie It is tremendous because its cons outweigh the good things. Some effective twists and an interesting case at its core stand out as obvious strengths, but they remain burdened by a bloated screenplay and sloppy execution. What could have been a sharp, engaging crime thriller is hamstrung by trying to seem intense and high-concept. Despite committed demonstrations and flashes of intrigue, Anomie: the equation of death Ultimately fails to break out of its own equation, leaving behind a film that promises depth but yields fatigue.
