Trance turned out to be a mixed bag as a viewing experience. While Fahad Fazil's performance is certainly a plus point and he, in fact, elevates the subpar writing in the second half, the film is tonally all over the place and does not have a clue what it wants to tell its viewers. Nazriya's character, who arrives in the latter half, felt completely unnecessary and did not add anything to the already-overstuffed screenplay,
The script by Vincent Vadakkan offers glimpses of brilliance in its initial portions. Here, the subjects of depression and mental health are tackled through the poignant yet warm performances of Fahad Fahil (who plays struggling motivational trainer Viju Prasad) and Sreenath Bhasi (who plays Viju's depressed younger brother Kunjan). This stretch is indeed the best written-and-executed part of Trance. The cinematography by Amal Neerad is spot on too - their house in Kanyakumari will remain a lasting, melancholic memory.
Act II is when the film actually kicks into high gear. When Viju is repackaged and christened Joshua Carlton (or JC), Trance takes it upon itself to give us insights into the pretentious yet swanky world of 'religion as a business'. Add an amusing pre-interval stretch, featuring an interview between by-now popular Pastor JC and a sharp journalist Mathew (Soubin, in a rather unusual casting choice). They play each other off spectacularly well and by the time the interval card comes up, the film has peaked.
Unfortunately, the second half (replete with plenty of Biblical references) goes steadily downhill. A makes-no-sense scuffle between Joshua and his two money-greedy corporate bosses, played by Gautham Menon (who does a suave job) and Chemban Vinod Jose (again an unusual choice for this role) takes place. A knocked-out JC reawakens on the third day (just like Jesus himself) and in a very trippy scene (neon sunglasses included), proves to his masters that he is no longer their slave. The trippiness, however, doesn't carry forward. It reappears in parts, like in a scene late into the second half but by then the screenplay has already gone haywire.
There's a subplot involving Vinayakan's character trying to cure his sick daughter by going the religious route, but it's underwhelmingly written and captured. An alcoholic, weed-smoking, high-maintenance Esther Lopez (Nazriya), who supposedly embodies someone à la Mary Magdelene, should have actually been pivotal to the conclusion of what was really going on with Viju Prasad. But no, she just disappears beyond a point in a manner that felt along the lines of 'Uh, good riddance!'.
Had Trance stuck to addressing a single theme - either of deteriorating mental health going unchecked or of fake godmen selling religion for their own greed, it would have been hailed a head-turner film. In its current form, it'll be remembered for the versatility in expressions that Fahad Fazil brings to the fore. While an immediate throwback to Shammi (from Kumbalangi Nights) feels inevitable, Fazil through his expressive face and body language, makes us buy into his transformation from a struggling-to-make-ends-meet Viju Prasad to the opulent suit-clad Pastor Joshua. And while it is commendable on part of the makers to have picked a rather odd choice (of religion) as one of its main themes, I wish they'd wholly sunk their teeth into it.
The script by Vincent Vadakkan offers glimpses of brilliance in its initial portions. Here, the subjects of depression and mental health are tackled through the poignant yet warm performances of Fahad Fahil (who plays struggling motivational trainer Viju Prasad) and Sreenath Bhasi (who plays Viju's depressed younger brother Kunjan). This stretch is indeed the best written-and-executed part of Trance. The cinematography by Amal Neerad is spot on too - their house in Kanyakumari will remain a lasting, melancholic memory.
Act II is when the film actually kicks into high gear. When Viju is repackaged and christened Joshua Carlton (or JC), Trance takes it upon itself to give us insights into the pretentious yet swanky world of 'religion as a business'. Add an amusing pre-interval stretch, featuring an interview between by-now popular Pastor JC and a sharp journalist Mathew (Soubin, in a rather unusual casting choice). They play each other off spectacularly well and by the time the interval card comes up, the film has peaked.
Unfortunately, the second half (replete with plenty of Biblical references) goes steadily downhill. A makes-no-sense scuffle between Joshua and his two money-greedy corporate bosses, played by Gautham Menon (who does a suave job) and Chemban Vinod Jose (again an unusual choice for this role) takes place. A knocked-out JC reawakens on the third day (just like Jesus himself) and in a very trippy scene (neon sunglasses included), proves to his masters that he is no longer their slave. The trippiness, however, doesn't carry forward. It reappears in parts, like in a scene late into the second half but by then the screenplay has already gone haywire.
There's a subplot involving Vinayakan's character trying to cure his sick daughter by going the religious route, but it's underwhelmingly written and captured. An alcoholic, weed-smoking, high-maintenance Esther Lopez (Nazriya), who supposedly embodies someone à la Mary Magdelene, should have actually been pivotal to the conclusion of what was really going on with Viju Prasad. But no, she just disappears beyond a point in a manner that felt along the lines of 'Uh, good riddance!'.
Had Trance stuck to addressing a single theme - either of deteriorating mental health going unchecked or of fake godmen selling religion for their own greed, it would have been hailed a head-turner film. In its current form, it'll be remembered for the versatility in expressions that Fahad Fazil brings to the fore. While an immediate throwback to Shammi (from Kumbalangi Nights) feels inevitable, Fazil through his expressive face and body language, makes us buy into his transformation from a struggling-to-make-ends-meet Viju Prasad to the opulent suit-clad Pastor Joshua. And while it is commendable on part of the makers to have picked a rather odd choice (of religion) as one of its main themes, I wish they'd wholly sunk their teeth into it.