Making a thriller with a leading actor requires a story that is airtight and a narration that keeps the audience on edge through the film. Debutant Malayalam director Abhijit Joseph tries to rise to this challenge in John Luther, which stars Jayasurya as a policeman investigating a series of missing persons.
Set in Munnar, Kerala, we meet John Luther (Jayasurya), a circle inspector, who goes above and beyond the call of duty for his work and lets his family take a distant second place. The diligent and hardworking policeman never lets his colleagues down but it’s a different story when it comes to his family. While his family are upset about this aspect of John Luther, his commitment to his profession is unwavering and that’s what we see projected throughout this investigative thriller.
A hit-and-run at Devikulam and a missing teacher kick off this story, but the director adds a twist to John Luther’s character - at one point, he is attacked by the men he’s trying to apprehend and he loses his hearing in that accident. Despite this major injury, John Luther sees the investigation through to its end. In a nutshell, John Luther is about an upright cop who suffers a personal setback but never gives up and nabs the culprits in the end.
Director Abhijit Joseph’s John Luther has been crafted similar to cop characters we have seen in the past in both Indian and Hollywood films and the storyline is run-of-the-mill as well. In trying to show John Luther as a dedicated policeman who can do no wrong, the director doesn’t explore other shades to this character which would have made it more interesting. Joseph has banked on the cop’s hearing loss to add a new dimension to this story but given the lack of other thrilling elements, it is not new or exciting for the audience. Joseph has tried to build the pace up in the film in a steady manner but the final sequences seem to have been shot hurriedly to reach the film to its logical conclusion, and it shows on screen.
With regard to performances, the character of John Luther is a walk in the park for Jayasurya, who is an award-winning actor, and has essayed roles far more intense than this. Given the title of the film is that of the protagonist’s, women hardly have any role to play in the film other than being demure, subservient wives and sisters. Other male supporting actors have essayed what is required of them.
The cinematography, by Toby Varghese Raj, showing the topography of the Munnar region is one of the highlights of this film while the music has been composed aptly by Shaan Rahman. This is a movie that doesn’t offer anything new to the audience but is okay timepass in the times of the pandemic, more so for Jayasurya fans.
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