I, Nobody Review: A Good Thriller That Loses Its Way

A terrific first half makes I, Nobody look like a great thriller, until an increasingly muddled second half loses the plot, deplores Sreeju Sudhakaran.

Nissam Basheer’s first film, Rorschach, was a well-made psychological thriller about a vengeful man determined to uproot the entire family of his wife’s already dead killer.

In his second film, I, Nobody, Basheer pits his protagonist against an entire city after he finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. In both films, the protagonists are deeply flawed and their actions often stretch legal credibility, yet the circumstances make you want to root for them.

But while Rorschach maintained remarkable consistency in both its visual and narrative storytelling, I, Nobody loses its way after setting up a brilliantly gripping first half.

A Bank Robbery Gone Wrong

The movie begins with Rajeevan (Prithviraj Sukumaran) entering a bank with a gun hidden behind his back. Within minutes, however, he becomes a hostage for three bank robbers who use him as cover while escaping the police. The getaway goes horribly wrong, but Rajeevan survives.

While the police initially see this government employee, family man and father of two daughters as just another ‘nobody’, some of his actions that day begin to raise suspicion.

Matters worsen when a sensationalist YouTube channel falsely accuses him of masterminding the robbery. With the missing loot yet to be recovered, the police become convinced Rajeevan knows where the money is hidden, or has it himself.

What Rajeevan was really doing at the bank that day, and whether he truly is a nobody or someone hiding much more than meets the eye, forms the rest of the plot.

A Gripping Start

From the very first scene, Nissam Basheer ensures he has your complete attention, beginning with the robbery sequence and the way it unfolds. It also establishes that while Rajeevan may have stumbled into a situation he never anticipated, there is a survival instinct within him that suggests he is anything but ordinary.

From there on, the film remains highly engaging as Rajeevan navigates this sudden upheaval in his life while the entire city searches for the missing cash lost along the robbers’ escape route.

Sameer Abdul’s screenplay becomes even more absorbing once Rajeevan finds himself under suspicion from both the police and the public. It begins affecting his already strained relationship with his wife (Parvathy Thiruvothu), as well as his career.

Basheer gives enough prominence to Rajeevan’s family without allowing the drama to slip into melodrama. The sequences where Rajeevan is harassed by ordinary people hoping to extort money from him are genuinely nerve-racking, and the writing feels grounded in the way he reacts to these situations. It would have been easy to exaggerate his suffering for emotional effect, but the film wisely resists that temptation.

It instead creates a constant sense of unease in Rajeevan’s responses, like when he realises the danger his daughters might face from their own schoolmates, prompting him to take practical, believable steps. At no point does I, Nobody become preachy or needlessly sentimental, while retaining its captivating grip.

Technical Brilliance, Narrative Shifts

Running alongside this is the story of Anas (Hakkim Shajahan), a suspended police officer who stutters, and Jacob (Ashokan), an employee at the apartment complex where Rajeevan lives, both searching for the missing money. The mystery surrounding the loot is also maintained remarkably well.

I know the elevator fight scene in Patriot divided audiences, but I enjoyed it. That said, I, Nobody features a lift fight that I found far superior in the way it is staged, shot and edited. The sequence perfectly showcases Basheer’s knack for creating visually stylish action without overwhelming the audience.

Interestingly, another standout fight scene in Indian cinema this year was Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s bus sequence in Maa Inti Bangaram. I, Nobody also features a similarly stylish bus fight, but it arrives at a point where the film is beginning to lose its footing. More on that later.

Dinesh Purushothaman’s cinematography gives I, Nobody a sleek visual identity, with fluid camera movements lending the film an urgent, restless energy. While the editing carries considerable kinetic momentum, it never feels excessively jarring, unlike what I experienced while watching Ananthan Kaadu.

For instance, there is a moment in the second half where Rajeevan falls from one level to another, and the camera simply stays with him throughout the fall. A less confident filmmaker would probably have chopped the sequence into multiple flashy cuts to make it look stylish rather than convincing.

Jakes Bejoy’s score further enhances the film’s polished feel, although I have mixed feelings about his use of Hindi songs in certain stretches. Ramess M B’s editing successfully amplifies the film’s frantic energy from one sequence to another, though I wish he had been more restrained with the overall pacing and runtime.

Second Half Struggles and Performances

The lengthy first half never feels slow because the screenplay remains consistently engaging. That becomes a problem in the second half, where the screenplay seems unsure about the direction it wants to take. It is here that the film’s length starts becoming impossible to ignore.

There is a crucial scene where a police officer, played by Madhupal, explains to Rajeevan that society functions like a food chain, where everyone survives by preying on someone else. But there is a twist. A grasshopper like Rajeevan, he says, cannot survive forever by simply eating grass. Eventually, it must prey on its own predator.

That conversation becomes the turning point for a protagonist who has spent the film till then on the defensive, prompting him to become exactly what society has accused him of being. It is certainly an intriguing progression.

In the way Rajeevan’s frustration with society begins affecting both his family life and marriage, I could see shades of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down.

I, Nobody repeatedly establishes that Rajeevan is merely an ordinary man pushed into extraordinary circumstances, and even the way he executes his plan reflects both his inexperience and his gradual moral descent.

At the same time, perhaps because Prithviraj is playing the role, Rajeevan also turns into an almost unstoppable fighting machine capable of taking down multiple opponents. The only explanation offered is a passing mention that he was once a party cadre, but that hardly justifies his near-superhuman abilities. It weakens the grounded realism the film works so hard to establish around its supposedly ordinary protagonist.

The film also attempts several tonal shifts during this phase. I liked how Rajeevan’s family gradually gets drawn into his schemes, and Jacob’s involvement adds another interesting dimension. But as the screenplay piles on more ingredients, including a kidnapping gone wrong and multiple factions wanting a share of Rajeevan’s ‘business’, it starts feeling increasingly uncertain about where it wants to go.

There is an extended chase sequence involving Rajeevan that, while impressively staged, doubles up as a satire on society’s dog-eat-dog nature. Yet, it amusingly reminded me of the climax chase in Indian 2. Don’t get me wrong, I, Nobody, even at its weakest, is miles ahead of Shankar’s sequel disaster, but the parallels are difficult to ignore. Some of the VFX used in the scene is also unconvincing.

The biggest casualty of the film’s confused tonal shifts, however, is the finale, which suddenly veers into political satire. It leaves you wondering what exactly just happened. How did a film that looked destined to become one of the year’s finest thrillers end up choosing such a convoluted route to resolve its central conflict?

The Performances Still Salvage The Show

I wouldn’t call the third act entirely disappointing. There are some genuinely fine performances. Parvathy, in particular, gets several moments to shine, especially in her scenes with the police and in showing her frustration towards her husband. The child actors playing the couple’s daughters are equally impressive.

So are Ashokan and Beena Chandran, who plays his wife. And an appearance from Vijayaraghavan, even in a cameo, is always welcome. Interestingly, he plays a chief minister after playing a similar role just days ago in Ananthan Kaadu.

But the second half undeniably feels like a letdown after everything the first half so confidently promised.

In the process, I, Nobody becomes yet another film where Prithviraj delivers an impressive performance, but the film doesn’t quite do him complete justice.

While the consistency of Rajeevan’s characterisation becomes questionable, Prithviraj underplays the role effectively, making for a convincing portrait of a frustrated family man driven to desperate lengths to protect those he loves.

There is enough craft, style and good acting here to recommend. But that’s possibly why I, Nobody is also so heartbreaking. Not that it falters, but that it shows us just how exceptional it could have been before losing sight of its own strengths.