Anomie Movie Review: There are so many red herrings scattered throughout Anomie that the mystery thriller almost forgets to tell us the reason it exists.
What begins as a heartbroken sister’s search for the reasons behind her younger brother’s apparent suicide gradually takes the shape of a hunt for serial killers that entails a very specific and strange modus operandi. Writer-director Riyas Marath throws in a few additional subplots, including one about a cop trying to revive his now lackluster career, to inflate a narrative that relies on clichés for an excruciating duration, before arriving at a moment he had overestimated and relied on too much. The answers to the central mystery eventually come wrapped in high-concept science and futurism, but the whole wrapping barely covers up the blandness that underpins most of the film.
Bhavana plays Zaara Philip, a forensic employee who is slowly coming to terms with the death of her parents at the beginning of the story. Zaara, however, has no time to tend to her personal wounds because her brother, Ziyan, is fighting sinister demons in his head and has already attempted suicide several times.
When Ziyan disappears one day, her life is turned upside down and she soon finds herself entangled in a curious labyrinth of crime and deceit, sparking a journey that promises no light at the end. It turns out that there are more incidents involving young men fighting psychological battles like Ziyan, and it doesn’t help anyone that lazy police officer Ghibran (Rahman) has botched every one of those investigations. While Ghibran, now disgraced by a court case, seeks redemption, Zaara fulfills her sisterly duties to avenge her brother.
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The novelty of a mystery thriller, particularly in the crime novel category, could not simply arise from a new story in the postmodern world, given the staggering number of entries to the genre. What separates the good guys from the rest (at least in a rudimentary sense) is the gaze with which they explore humanity and the needs of the crime that surrounds it. In Anomie, however, the act of crime itself becomes a superficial tool to launch an investigation that relies tirelessly on clichés and never seems interested in constructing a liveable, engaging, or believable world.
The plot progresses along with self-fulfilling discoveries in the case. Police officers take cold showers or nearly drown in bathtubs, reflecting on the investigations at hand. Sticky and sweet flashbacks pass like montages, possible culprits are teased with fleeting glimpses, the background music does its best to adapt to the constant change of mood and in this way, little by little, the film justifies its 152-minute running time.
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It’s not that Anomie doesn’t have that decisive element; It has one that seems to be part of the plot, when in reality it resides in a kind of commentary on death and the poignancy that surrounds it. Riyas Marath attempts to shed light on how to deal with loss and the desires most of us have to live in an altered state of consciousness, where the idea of said loss potentially does not exist. Could those altered visions be trapped after all? If so, what will it take for humanity to adopt the idea? These are some of the key questions that anomie (that is, a condition of lack or breakdown of social and ethical standards) asks itself before embarking on a path that not only does not provide adequate answers, but also exasperates its co-participants all the time.
The only positive side of the film would be the final stretch that attempts to tie up all the loose ends and reveal the tapestry that was in the making. Although the tone or temperament of the narration here, as in the rest of the film, is cheesy, the concepts conveyed are refreshing in contrast to the run-of-the-mill research on display until then. The various aspects of filmmaking (including cinematography, editing and music) also come together well here and somehow Riyas Marath manages to end things on a positive note.
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Bhavana is won over in the initial parts of the film, imbuing Zaara with tenderness and defiance. Rahman, on the other hand, struggles to breathe life or charisma into Ghibran, and it doesn’t help that the film’s focus moves frenetically all over the place; the shot length is considerably short and both cinematography and editing are done relentlessly to create a semblance of mood.
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Would Anomie be a missed opportunity in that sense? Well, that would have been the case if the creators had realized the essence of their story from the beginning and there were flashes of effort in that pursuit. What the film ends up being is routine at best, with a few touches of genuine curiosity. It’s more like a meal that disappoints with its main course to enhance its dessert; It sounds intriguing, but that approach rarely works, right?
Cast of the movie Anomia: Bhavana, Rahman
Director of the film Anomia: Riyas Marath
Anomie movie rating: 2.5 stars