‘Kalamkaval’ movie review: Mammootty and Vinaykan elevate this slow-burn thriller

What does 1 person to look guardant to erstwhile a filmmaker lays astir each the cards connected the array close astatine the beginning? At nary constituent successful Kalamkaval, a constabulary procedural successful pursuit of a serial killer, are we, the audience, required to wonderment astir the ‘who’, which remains hidden lone from the investigators. As rumoured, the movie is inspired by the real-life communicative of the dreaded serial slayer Cyanide Mohan, and by present astir everyone knows that Mammootty plays the antagonist.

But, unfurling each the surprises astatine erstwhile tin beryllium a utile instrumentality to termination specified expectations erstwhile the volition of your movie is not conscionable to service 1 twist aft another. For that matter, Kalamkaval has 1 absorbing astonishment astatine the halfway point, which opens up a full caller satellite of possibilities. This is the 1 large deviation the movie takes from the real-life story. Kalamkaval is arsenic acrophobic with the mindspaces of the cold-blooded slayer and the sharp-thinking constabulary serviceman successful his pursuit.

Mammootty’s antagonist relation has ever been the USP of the film. Yet, debutant manager Jithin K. Jose, who wrote the communicative for Dulquer Salman’s Kurup, takes a marked non-commercial attack compared to Kurup, which was besides based connected a real-life criminal. Thus, the serial slayer ne'er gets a country that casts him successful a heroic oregon adjacent favourable light, contempt a prima playing the role. The chewing of cigarettes and Tamil songs with a 1980s vintage interaction (composed by Mujeeb Majeed) that travel the killer’s spine-chilling acts look arsenic details of the quality alternatively than attempts astatine glorification.

Our archetypal brushwood with this character’s psychopathy comes successful a thoughtfully written country successful a edifice room, which takes disconnected from a speech astir a random quality item, gathering hostility with each enactment uttered and culminates successful the inevitable. In yet different sequence, meant to convey his modus operandi and the fig of victims, a antithetic histrion is utilized successful the succeeding measurement of the aforesaid sequence. Such intelligent touches are astatine times missing successful the second half, but successful a fewer instances. In those closing phases, overmuch of the intrigue rests connected the performances of Mammootty and Vinayakan, alternatively than connected the staging oregon writing.

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For a communicative that alternates betwixt Tamil Nadu and Kerala, Mammootty brings casual shifts successful code and demeanour. But 1 tin find nary hint present of his Tamil-Malayali quality successful Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. Vinayakan, with his casual restraint, matches the superstar successful each step. Giving him the nickname of ‘Nathu’, successful a seeming motion to Mammootty’s quality successful Kanalkkattu (1991) and the inheritance communicative down that sanction revealed successful the past sequence, was impressive. 

Kalamkaval could person go conscionable different slow-burn serial slayer contempt immoderate of its archetypal takes, but Mammootty and Vinayakan elevate it to the adjacent level done the unit of their performances.

Kalamkaval is presently moving successful theatres