Face to Face Malayalam movie Review

Producer- M.K.Nassar

Director- V.M.Vinu

Cast- Mammootty, Siddique, Kalabhavan Mani, Vijayaraghavan, Ragini Dwivedi, Roma etc.

Music- Alphonse Joseph

 Review By : Unni R Nair (Kerala9.com )

The posters had led me to expect ‘Face to Face’ to be an investigative thriller. It did begin on that note, but half way down the line it went for sort of a twist and then when it ended, it ended on a totally different note. But does that (and that alone) make me pass the verdict that the film is intolerable? No way!! It isn’t intolerable, I may say. But the kind of plot that V.M.Vinu seeks to narrate in the film, isn’t it a bit outdated? The storyline, especially the second half of the film, seems more like that of a film of the late 1980s or early 1990s. And there are flaws too. So, in total, though ‘Face to Face’ is not intolerable, it doesn’t leave much of an indelible impression on our minds.

‘Face to Face’ begins as the story of Balachandran (Mammootty), a shrewd cop who is under suspension and who is now busy doing real estate business and at all other times, boozing to his heart’s content. And then, a young chap, a terribly ‘bad guy’ and the son of an influential politician Varkey (Vijayaraghavan), gets murdered in the most brutal of manners. Superintendent of Police Ramadas (Siddique), with whom Balachandran shares a personal rapport as well, takes charge of the investigation, assisted by Circle Inspector Abdul Latheef (Kalabhavan Mani), who has always been an admirer of Balachandran. Ramadas wants Balachandran to be part of the team and offers to initiate steps to deal with the suspension. But the latter refuses and the investigation begins. Now, Ramadas, by sheer nature of his job, has Balachandran too among his list of suspects. This because Balachandran had had a grudge on the murdered guy, with whom he has had serious issues in the past. Balachandran faces Ramadas’ queries and convinces him of his innocence. Then we see Balachandran helping in the investigation by secretly making his own probes into the case and passing on information to Latheef, without Ramadas’ knowledge. But then, at half-time, you are destined to get a shock; something unexpected would take place and the rest of the film seeks to find answers…

Yes, I didn’t get bored while watching ‘Face to Face’, but all the same I realize that there’s not much, or to be precise, nothing at all, that remains etched on our minds once we leave the theatres. Hence a wasted effort, wasted in all respects. But I watched it with some amount of pleasure since ‘Face to Face’ was far better than Mammootty’s last film, ‘Jawan of Vellimala’. For me, the film seems watchable in parts too, but as a whole it’s far from impressive…
Performance

Mammootty’s presence is the only thing worth mentioning in the film. He has done his part with style and in a convincing manner, but the flaws in the script works against the actor and his film to a great extent. The others have lent able support and do their respective roles convincingly.
Technical aspects
Nothing negative to jot about the technical aspects of the film. The technicians have lent full support, they have tried their best to give the film a youth-oriented feel, but sans substance, ‘Face to Face’ staggers and fails to deliver…
Music

The songs are not that impressive by way of the lyrics and the tunes, but the director has pictured them in a trendy manner and I would say the picturisation is not bad, though not great either.
Script

Script by Manoj is the worst thing about ‘Face to Face’; incongruous parts that don’t sync together and sequences that could have been worked out better. The film could have been done in a much better manner.
Direction

Though V.M.Vinu is in full control and the film is not intolerable, the script that he has chosen to work on plays foil and the film, which could have made for a watchable film, leaves much to be desired…
Verdict- Unimpressive show, gets derailed due to poor script…
Rating: 1.5/5