12th Man (Malayalam)

Continuing my streak of viewing Malayalam films on OTT, I recently saw 12th Man (Malayalam). 

OTT Platform: Disney+ Hotstar.

This stars Mohanlal, and a bunch of characters (11). The other actors I am afraid I don't know due to my limited knowledge of the Malayalam film industry.

11 friends gather at a resort outside the city for a bachelors(?) party hosted for their friend Siddharth. It includes Fida, Siddharth’s fiancée Aarathy, Mathew and his wife Shiny, Jithesh and his wife Dr. Nayana, Sam and his wife Merin, Zachariah and his wife Annie.

7 out of the 11 are college mates. The others are their spouses / fiancee (1). In the beginning they are annoyed by a drunk person called Chandrashekar who demands alcohol for them. They try their best to get rid of him. But he keeps popping up everywhere, even in the party.

In the party, one of the group (Fida) says that even though they are close friends, there are always secrets between them. Others disagree. 

Then someone suggests that they should play a game to finish off this argument. The game is simple. Everyone will keep their mobile phones out on the table for 1 hour. Any call received will be played on speaker phone. Any private text will be read out.

As expected, nothing good comes out of this :-). One by one embarrassing secrets start tumbling out. Financial problems, family issues, etc. 

The icing on the cake comes when Siddharth gets a call from one of his friends asking about the name of abortion pills that he got for one of the women in their group. All hell breaks loose. Accusations and counter-accusations fly around as to who the woman is (and by association, who the man is that had an affair with her). Insults are thrown at each other

The party disintegrates rapidly. Everyone goes to different parts of the resort, including their own rooms.

After a while, Shiny is found dead near a view point. Did she fall, commit suicide, or was murdered?

The police arrive. The friendly drunkard - Chandrashekar - turns out to be actually an ACP who has been temporarily suspended. The actual investigating officer has to handle election duties, so he hands over the case to his superior (Chandrashekar).

And then the game of cat and mice begins. Everyone is called, Agatha Christie style, into a big room. They are told to unlock their phones and put them on the table. So the game is resumed, this time with Chandrashekar as the puppeteer. He accesses everyone's phones, tells them whom to call, what to speak, etc.

It's only these actions primarily that peel back the layers. A lot of skeletons tumble out of everyone's closets. Affairs, financial irregularities, huge money transfers between people in the group, etc. - a whole basket of motives is presented.. 

How Chandrashekar guides the investigation towards a conclusion is the meaty part of the movie. Mohanlal effortlessly switches between the drunkard in the beginning to the sharp detective after the incident. He has the meatiest role, and does full justice to it.

The other characters are also well cast. They make their roles believable to a large extent.

All in all, a good film. Family friendly, nothing to worry about.

Note: There is only Malayalam audio available, with English subtitles. I personally love watching any movie in its own language for the feel it gives. But to each his own. If you are looking for other language options, there aren't any for this film.

Under Suspicion (2000)

 Under Suspicion is a 2000 Hollywood film. Starring Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman and Monica Bellucci in the main roles.

This is one of my favorites. One that I watch again and again, although not frequently. Because it is an intense one. So I space out the viewings.

Trust is fragile. It is undefinable. But it either exists or it doesn't. And you know for sure whether someone trusts you or not.

If someone is guilty of a crime, then they deserve to be punished. But what of suspicion? If someone is suspected of a ghastly crime without proof, isn't it actually worse than being guilty?

Gene Hackman (Henry Hearst) is a wealthy tax attorney. He is about to give a speech at a big fundraising event, as the city celebrates a festival. Just before the event, he is called by Morgan Freeman (Captain Victor Benezet) for questioning. Just 10 minutes, is what he is told.

As the questioning by the Captain and Detective Felix Owens (Thomas Jane) proceeds, Hearst learns that this is no 10 minute matter. It is also very serious. A young girl has been raped and strangled. 

There has been one more rape and strangling of another young girl a few weeks ago. He is being questioned about that too.

So it is obvious that he is the prime suspect.

In the beginning Hearst is at ease. Rich, powerful, connected. Captain Victor Benezet's boss is eager for Hearst to be released ASAP. He even interrupts the questioning to have Hearst cross over the street to the event, give his speech, and then go back to the police station.

As the interrogation proceeds, there is a lot of back and forth. Hearst's life is peeled apart piece by piece until there is absolutely nothing left. We learn that his is a sexless marriage due to which he visits prostitutes in absolutely shady areas (one near the first murder). 

Why is the marriage sexless? Because his wife, Chantal (Monica Bellucci) thinks that he tried to seduce her niece, who is a young girl. So she withholds the one thing that he most desires as a cruel form of punishment.

Hearst has been lying to the police from the start. There are gaps in his story. This convinces them that he is the murderer and they go at him real hard.

In her adamant belief in her husband's guilt, Chantal allows the police to search their mansion, even though they had no basic initial evidence to do so.

Is Hearst the killer? That's a spoiler I can't go through with.

But the mystery is not the juicy part. It's the dynamic duo of Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. Monica Bellucci plays an important role, but she is not the main attraction.

Freeman and Hackman - Cat and mouse. Dancing, dueling. Repartee - witty sometimes, insulting to the other at times. Trying to wear the other down. Expressions. Absolute masterclass in acting.  They turn an ordinary story into something at a much higher level. 

Back to trust. If you have it, heavenly. If you don't, nothing else matters. All the money and luxury in the world is hollow if you don't have someone important to you believing in you.

Currently on Netflix.  Not family friendly, as you might have guessed :-). But  most definitely worth a watch.