Prithviraj Sukumaran, Parvathy’s 'I, Nobody' sets out to be an extraordinary tale, falls short | Review

There is an opening shot in ‘I, Nobody’ where a man is heard taking deep breaths before quietly placing a gun behind him as he enters a bank. The image immediately raises questions: what are the circumstances that brought him there? Is he a mastermind of some vicious robbery that will trigger a chain of events in the film? There are questions but in Nissam Basheer’s films, the answers neither come easily nor unfold predictably, as the filmmaker builds intrigue through ambiguity rather than relying on direct exposition.

This narrative strategy is the strength of Nissam’s works, if one is to look back to his 2022 psychological thriller ‘Rorschach’, where he created a canvas, that is build entirely on ambiguity. However, this time, with ‘I, Nobody,’ both Nissam and the screenwriter Sameer Abdul, give the film a more grounded experience, as they centre the tale on a young family of four navigating through a tense and emotionally draining situation in their lives.

Though Prithviraj and Parvathy have played an onscreen couple several times, even delivering one of Mollywood’s most iconic pairs in Kanchanamala and Moideen in ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’, this is the first time they are sharing the screen as parents to children, played by Nakshathra and Ayra Iza. The young actors fit naturally into the family dynamic, and together, the four deliver layered performances that become one of the film’s biggest strengths, making even the quieter moments feel convincing and lived-in.

Nissam has always depended on a distinctive visual language, with his camera style, editing and cinematography playing a defining role in his films, and with ‘I, Nobody’ he proves he is still a master of that craft. Every frame is carefully composed, while each song and camera movement carries a rhythm and identity of its own, creating the illusion that they are extensions of the protagonists’ personalities and emotional states. Rather than merely complementing the story, the film’s visual design actively shapes the mood, heightening both the tension and the intimacy of the narrative.

However, despite such an engaging build-up that makes you invest in the story right from the opening scenes and even well after the interval, ‘I, Nobody’ ultimately feels like a film that loses its way somewhere along the journey. This is disappointing because it begins on an extraordinary note and continues to make strong progress for a major part of its runtime, raising expectations of something even more impactful. This is probably because the first half makes you believe the story is building towards a particular turning point, but when it eventually takes a different route, the emotional weight of what the family goes through does not hit as strongly as it should. It is not because the events lack significance, but because the film had prepared you for something else, making the eventual payoff feel less powerful than expected.

Just like ‘Kettyolanente Malakha’, which dealt with the sensitive subject of marital rape and sparked widespread discussions soon after its release, ‘I, Nobody’ too highlights yet another issue that leaves many families in a difficult spot. The film deserves credit for bringing such a subject into the mainstream and weaving it into a commercial narrative. However, unlike his previous film, where the issue being discussed was explored with greater depth and eventually arrived at a satisfying emotional and narrative conclusion, ‘I, Nobody’ stops short of exploring them fully, offering no convincing answers or meaningful resolution to the subject it toys with.

The makers, however, deserve credit for highlighting crucial issues such as media influence and the social stigma surrounding sensitive matters. These themes are blended organically into the narrative, with several well-executed moments that never feel preachy, allowing the film to spark thought even when its storytelling falls short of its own ambitions.

Parvathy anchors the emotional core of the family drama with another assured and convincing performance, bringing depth to even the quieter moments. Prithviraj, on the other hand, delivers on all fronts, whether it is the emotional scenes, the action sequences or simply his screen presence. While the action set pieces are well executed and engaging, they occasionally feel a bit far-fetched for a story that is centred on the life of an ordinary citizen, making them seem slightly out of place within the film's otherwise grounded world.

The film has been marketed as a socio-political drama woven into the fabric of a family story, and that is exactly what ‘I, Nobody’ delivers as a whole package. Even though the final act does not quite live up to the intrigue and expectations built by the earlier portions, it remains a technically well-crafted film with an engaging premise. With a little more focus and a stronger payoff to the ideas it introduces, the story could have been far more impactful.