Forensic movie review: Fresh take on 'science' of a crime thriller

Usually, in crime thrillers that glorify intelligence and agile moves of the investigating teams, the role of the forensic department is limited to just the finger print expertise. However, 'Forensic', the suspense thriller, starring Tovino Thomas in the lead, explores various nuances of the forensic sciences and depicts how they help in solving a murder mystery.

If the super hit Tamil movie 'Ratsasan' portrays a series of murders of young school going girls, Forensic, depicts children aged between 5 and 6 who fall prey to a serial killer. If it was a criminal psychologist who helped a woman investigating officer in 'Anjam Paathira', the first super hit of 2020, in this movie, a forensic expert comes to the police’s aid. The movie brilliantly portrays their findings and revelations with intriguing twists.

Forensic begins with a few flashback scenes which project how the mindset of a serial killer is formed. The scenes then shift to a city which is plagued by a series of gruesome murders. The story picks up pace when the characters of Rithika, Samuel and the villain make the entry. The first half ends when the identity of the villain, who possesses a unique personality and look, is revealed.

The second half throws a handful of riddles for the audience to think and solve. You may lose the connection between sequences if the film is not watched with full concentration. From a single villain in the first half, the movie unravels a lot of people who are connected to the crimes. Though 'Forensic' has the clichéd twist that is common to all crime thrillers, it doesn’t challenge the rationality or credibility of the plot.

Tovino delivers a power-packed performance as forensic expert Samuel Kattorkaran. Mamta Mohandas shines as Rithika while Reba Monica delivers worthwhile performance as Shikha. Ranji Panicker, Saiju Kurup and Sreekant Murali too essay their respective roles with elan.

The director duo of Akhil Paul–Anas Khan, who also wrote the screenplay, could definitely take pride in their debut movie. However, it is their screenplay that deserves extra points.

'Forensic' does not conform to the usual formala of a crime thriller. The movie makes the audience realise that complex yet reliable scientific evidences are vital in solving a crime. 'Forensic' would be an interesting watch for those who are interested in the genre of suspense thriller.