A good heist thriller is not only about stolen money or high-octane action; it’s about keeping the audience guessing until the last 10 minutes of the film’s run. Nissam Basheer’s I, Nobody does a good job of that formula in a great thriller that mixes suspense, emotional drama and social commentary in a story that is compelling in its own right. An inspiring Prithviraj Sukumaran and a restrained but effective Parvathy Thiruvothu keep the film engaging throughout (even with some narrative tangles).
Story
Rajeevan (Prithviraj Sukumaran) is a middle-class man trying to get a government job while suffering from a broken marriage. But his marriage with his wife Meera (Parvathy Thiruvothu) is at a breaking point when he learns of her affair with a bank manager.
Rajeevan gets angry and confronts the manager at the bank, only to find himself in the middle of a robbery. When the thieves find out he has a gun, they force him to accompany them.
What follows completely changes his life.
Rajeevan is the only person who survives an awful accident during the gang’s escape. And when investigators are looking for the ₹17 crore stolen in the robbery, suspicion is growing on him. The media calls him a criminal, the police are following him, and powerful forces start to chase him down.
Did Rajeevan steal the money? Or is he just a pawn in a much larger conspiracy?
The movie gradually peels back the layers and it turns out that the bank robbery is just the beginning of a much larger story.
What Works
The strength of I, Nobody is its brisk first half. Nissam Basheer keeps the tension high, introducing new complications at just the right moments.
The way the screenplay changes perspectives without confusing the audience is commendable. For example, in a good sequence Rajeevan follows the movement of the stolen cash, where visual storytelling replaces long exposition.
The editing deserves special praise. It doesn’t feel too much like it takes a lot of time away from an endgame here: transitions are smooth and well-controlled and the story flows smoothly and fast enough to keep you engaged.
It’s a heist thriller, but it shows us how media reports and people’s perceptions can instantly turn an ordinary person into a villain. And this theme layers on what seems like a very ordinary crime thriller.
Rajeevan’s emotional isolation is depicted in the film very well in cinematography. Wide camera angles and quiet family moments balance the emotions during all the chaos.
Where It Falls Short
The movie is sometimes at odds with itself. It starts out as a bank robbery thriller before it becomes media sensationalism, political influence, corruption and family drama. Each subplot is certainly interesting on its own but all of them add up to make it seem like the story is a little too much in general.
The action moves are well-choreographed (and in one case a lift sequence) but the moments when Rajeevan escapes seemingly impossible situations slightly ease the tension towards the climax.
Performances
Prithviraj Sukumaran is once again proving that he is still one of the best performers of Malayalam cinema and one of its most outstanding actors. Rajeevan is a very human but deeply flawed character, and emotion is expressed in the most subtle way and not with any kind of dramatic dialogue. He is a very good actor as Rajeevan.
Parvathy Thiruvothu does another mature performance and portrays Meera with remarkable restraint. She doesn’t make the character one-dimensional, but rather a woman who is stuck in an emotionally broken relationship.
Hakkim Shahjahan makes a strong impression as a greedy and manipulative police officer and Jakes Bejoy’s background score really adds to the film’s tension with a cinematic, international feel.
Final Verdict
I, Nobody works because it’s more than a heist thriller. It’s the very mix of mystery, emotional conflict, media commentary, suspense which keeps the audience interested through the whole thing.
Although the screenplay does get bogged down in a few elements of the story with so many different themes, it loses focus at times, the gripping plot, stylish execution, and great performance of Prithviraj Sukumaran make it worth watching. If you are looking for a thriller with a lot of emotion and wild turns, I, Nobody provides you with that.
