Covid pandemic, lockdown, flat 13A, alone, Mohanlal — Chances are the only thing that could excite an average cinephile for director Shaji Kailas’s latest film Alone is the presence of the Malayalam superstar. But even that falls short to evoke any emotion other than boredom and agony.
If Mohanlal’s last film Monster (2022) left you scratching your head, Alone would leave you asking: why and why now?
Written by Rajesh Jayaraman and directed by Shaji Kailas, the film follows Kalidasan (Mohanlal), a motivational speaker who travels to Kochi from Coimbatore to be by himself during the Covid-induced lockdown. Alone is set in the early days of the pandemic.
In a predictable series of events, Kalidasan, who is alone in his new flat—13A—begins to hear voices. By the time he cracks the matter, the interest and will of the audience goes out of the window.
Existing in a confused state between a pandemic drama and a jump-scare-filled horror, it fails to deliver on both aspects.
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Star power can’t save it
Kailas and Mohanlal’s previous collaborations (Narasimhan and Aaram Thampuran) are some of the biggest films of both their careers. However, it seems like no thought was put into making this film. The screenplay stutters with nothing unique to say, and the one-man show lacks sincerity and any effort.
There are some actors who, regardless of the story or the director, have the might to pull the audience to the theatres, Mohanlal is one of them. But those hoping to find solace in just his presence in the film might be disappointed.
Several other actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Renji Panicker, Siddique, Suresh Krishna feature in the film merely as voices. I wonder if their physical presence would have made any difference. Perhaps, no.
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Lockdown films, a tired trope
Kailas, whose last two directorial films include Kaapa and Kaduva starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, presents a tasteless thriller with tropes that have been used — rather overused — umpteen times in the last two years. If there’s anything filmmakers must learn in 2023 is that stories based in a pandemic world — unless you have something unique to say — are passé.
The film struggles to find its own voice making the runtime of 122 minutes extremely strenuous to sit through. The background music does not blend well with the narrative, and neither does the shaky cinematography. The forced plot twist neither surprises nor shocks.
If Alone was released two years ago on a streaming platform, it may have found some takers, but in 2023, with no meat in the story, it is an exercise in how not to make a film.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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