Identity

The film is engaging despite being convenient in many places.

Identity is neither a film about an eccentric personality solving cases, nor purely about identifying a serial rapist, nor about a person with face blindness solving a murder—it keeps turning into a different film every 20 minutes, giving it an identity crisis. While the engaging screenplay and strong performances keep one invested, the film suffers from contrivance and the underexploration of its many compelling ideas.

...you are constantly wondering how anyone could write up and then direct a complicated story like this. It’s a pity, because largely, it is well-made with perfectly coordinated cinematography by Akhil George and cuts by Chaman Chakko.

Talented Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas impresses as a multitasking hero in dubbed movie 'Identity' but the convoluted story lacks enough meat and almost reads like a medical journal. Some kind of disorders for the main characters and their detailed explanations, take the sting off his investigative thriller.

Identity has strived too much to ground its story in scientific and psychological plausibility, that it ends up compromising thrills that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. From the outset, Identity feels more invested in tossing around scientific jargon and explaining behaviours than in crafting a narrative with emotional depth. What worsens this is the lack of emotional resonance as none of the moments feel impactful.

If someone were to narrate the story of Identity, directed by Akhil Paul and Anas Khan, chances are that halfway through, the person will get lost in a maze of complicated side stories. Several of these plotlines are convoluted. It would require immense amounts of patience to untangle all the motives of the multiple villains in the narrative.