‘Identity’ movie review: Tovino Thomas-Trisha Krishnan investigative thriller gets lost in a convoluted plotline

Identity movie review: At its core, there is a fairly interesting and mostly uncomplicated storyline which holds up the film until the interval point. After that, one can witness the screenwriter being acted upon by the pressure to keep the audience guessing

If someone were to narrate the story of Identity, directed by Akhil Paul and Anas Khan, chances are that halfway through, the person will get lost in a maze of complicated side stories. It need not have been that way, for at its core, there is a fairly interesting and mostly uncomplicated storyline which holds up the film until the interval point.

After that, one can witness the screenwriter being acted upon by the pressure to keep the audience guessing. For, by the halfway point, we almost get an idea of all the principal players and there is little left to uncover. It is at this point that the tedious work of the writer begins, building up elaborate plotlines for the villain’s true intentions and the hero’s real identity (which reminds one of such surprise reveals in quite a few other movies). Several of these plotlines are convoluted. It would require immense amounts of patience to untangle all the motives of the multiple villains in the narrative.

The main plot revolves around Alisha (Trisha Krishnan), a key witness to a crime, whom Karnataka police officer Allen Jacob (Vinay Rai) brings to Kerala as part of a witness protection programme. Staying in the same apartment is Haran Shankar (Tovino Thomas), a person with unique capabilities as a sketch artiste, who attempts to help Alisha uncover the killer. But, a condition related to her memory makes this a tricky affair.

Akhil Paul and Anas Khan, who previously made Forensic, have certainly got better at their game, and scaled up their ambitions. The bigger budgets at their disposal have reflected in the noticeably improved production design and impressively staged action set pieces. But beyond the glitter on the surface, some of the problems of their previous outing persist here, especially with regard to this constant need to spring surprises. The film takes several convenient turns without any explanations, right from a major character getting shot and then appearing unscathed in the next scene to another scene where a chartered flight hurtling towards a crash miraculously makes a safe landing.

While the heroic elements were downplayed in Forensic, some parts appear to be written in Identity just for highlighting the hero’s capabilities. Tovino takes on a stiff body language as one of the character’s peculiarities and delivers what is required. At the same time, Trisha gets an under-written character who has no other dimensions beyond the one related to her memory. Mandira Bedi gets a mostly pointless role, while Vinay Rai has an extended meaty one.

Going by how Identity pans out in the end, the film would have looked better had it ended on a high at the halfway point, rather than labouring its way through all the tangled subplots. A tighter narrative would have made it a slick actioner.

Identity is currently running in theatres