Vezham Movie Review

Vezham Movie Review: When Vezham begins, we see a young couple, Ashok (Ashok Selvan) and Leena (Iswarya Menon), riding on a bike on a mountain, while a news report of a serial killer is heard off screen. Soon, they see a car abandoned right in the middle of the road, and suddenly, he is being hit on the head with someone throwing a mask around his face. The film cuts to a few years later, and we learn that they were victims of the serial killer. While Ashok has survived, Leena was less fortunate. Now, Ashok is keen on discovering the identity of the killer. All he has as a clue is his voice! Can he find the killers?

Vezham is the kind of film that wants to be a mood-driven thriller but its convoluted writing frequently ruins the sombre, almost mournful mood that the filmmaking is going for. The film has a distinct aesthetic – the art direction, costumes and makeup give that upper-class chic feel that we get in TV commercials. The cinematography eschews bright colours, further adding to the ‘classiness’. As does the music. Breezy songs that seem pleasant to hear without being particularly memorable and a score that isn’t insistent but understated. The offbeat-ness is something Director Sandeep Shyam even attempts a Mani Ratnam-ish mirror scene!

However, despite all these ambitions in the filmmaking, the writing is dull, relying mainly on revelations that after a point feel like twists that seem to have been introduced just for the sake of it. The elegance in the filmmaking also keeps the characters at a distance from us, resulting in us not being truly affected by their situation. The actors, too, seem to be conscious of sticking to the understated tone that there are moments when their performances don’t feel compelling. Other than a couple of times when Ashok Selvan howls in rage, we never get the seething anger that is simmering inside Ashok. Iswarya and Janani are hardly required to do anything beyond look pretty and look at Ashok with star-struck eyes.

But the biggest disappointment is the ineffective antagonists. In fact, the bad guys are one too many and none feel like real threats. In fact, they get disposed of quite easily that we are left feeling as unsatisfied as Ashok after he has gotten his revenge.