The Mask review: Kevin, Andrea star in interesting heist drama that doesn’t entirely succeed

Slowly and steadily, actor Kavin has been building a fan base through his film selections. His boy-next-door image from his TV days is helping him in this transformation. His film selection has always shown diversity. His latest offering, ‘Mask’, is an action thriller, where he shares screen space with Andrea Jeremiah. Acclaimed director Vetri Maran has helmed the film and also acted as a consultant, adding to the sense of anticipation. Has ‘Mask’ lived up to everyone’s expectations? Let’s find out!

The film is based on Velu (Kavin), a private detective who is completely motivated by self-interest. He solves customers’ problems but never misses an opportunity to take advantage of them because money is his only motivation. He crosses paths with Bhumi (Andrea Jeremiah), who runs a women’s shelter while engaging in dark political dealings. Bhoomi’s working relationship with Manivannan (Pawan), an ambitious politician, spices things up.

As the politician prepares to distribute Rs 440 crore across the state for the upcoming elections, a masked group hatches a plan to steal the money. ‘The Mask’ starts off with characters with clear objectives, but soon becomes a heist drama that is full of emotions, action and thrills.

Debutant director Vikarnan Ashok’s ‘Mask’ is full of entertainment and shows flashes of brilliance when it really realizes its potential. The dark comedy treatment works majorly in the film’s favor, keeping things interesting. While the first half relies heavily on character development, it takes a good time capturing our attention. But when the main conflict is established between Kavin’s Velu and Andrea’s land, the film moves forward and reaches a higher level with its pre-interval and interval sequences.

As the film progresses into the second half, ‘Mask’ answers many questions in an interesting way. However, the film’s pace often slows down due to the uneven screenplay and rushed editing. Even with a short runtime of two hours-seven minutes, the film feels overlong, which is a serious concern. Some of the songs in the first part of ‘Mask’, despite being a montage, fail to take the story forward and keep things together.

Kavin and Ruhani Sharma’s track runs parallel, but doesn’t deliver the emotion it deserves. With its uneven script, you are drawn into the film at one time and alienated at another. This writing choice prevents ‘Mask’ from being a full-fledged heist thriller.

Kavin plays a morally ambiguous character and gives a solid performance. However, after watching most of his films one realizes that his expressions are limited, which prevents his characters from being memorable. Andrea Jeremiah’s performance is a worthy addition to his repertoire and so is Pawan’s.

Thanks to RD Rajasekhar’s cinematography, ‘Mask’ looks spectacular on screen. His framing and lighting, especially during the night scenes, deserve special appreciation. However, the editing by Ramer could have been more subtle. GV Prakash’s music does its job for ‘Mask’.

With its interesting story, ‘The Mask’ is a watchable thriller full of clean acting. While there are enough moments to keep you engaged, there are also a few shortcomings that prevent it from being a good film.