Noirish,slow burning,brilliant..At par with any Jean Pierre Melville thrillers of the yore. A couple of weeks ago I was put through two and hours of gutter crap called 'Ratsasan' from my neighboring state of Tami Nadu.Watching Joseph after Ratsasan was like getting cleansed from something evil that was sticking to me for the last two decades.Director Padmakumar is a veteran of sorts in Malayalam movie industry.As an ardent movie lover my personal take on this director is,he was just average.He could never rise above a script, an ordinary script remained ordinary ,he could never make it special with the so called ' treatment' which we often associate to masters like Padmarajan.So more than the director I want to credit the writer Shahi Kabir, never heard of him before, for the success of Joseph.
Joseph,the titular character played to perfection by Joju K George is a retired low ranking cop still highly respected by his seniors as well as new entrants for his natural instincts in solving complicated crimes.He lives alone drinking , abandoned and wasted.He was once a happily married family man.The reason for his wife,Stella, leaving him has an emotional backdrop which forms the Crux of the story which I don't want to spoil.He finds solace in his 4 friends from the force with whom he travels and drinks.
One day Joseph gets the news of Stella,now married to another man, being a victim of a hit and run incident.Joseph is devastated.She soon succumbs to her injuries.The hospital authorities pressures her new husband to donate her organs on humanitarian grounds to which he agrees.Later a chance visit to a police station where Stella's mauled scooter which she was riding when she was hit is lying neglected.Joseph finds something odd in the whole incident and he decides to investigate on his own.What Joesph unravels is a web of deceit and greed that has no regard for human life and ultimately ends in a heart-rending sacrifice.
A man who deserves standing ovation in this particular work is Anil Johnson who scored the back ground ( not songs).Like the earlier mentioned Ratsasan he could've ripped apart the viewers brain and hearing system with all the tools he had in his kitty.Here,Mr.Anil heightens tension,generates panic, sometimes pours love and affection..by using one simple Technic, being mellifluous.This track deserves a release.Outstanding.For a thriller this movie has a surprising number of songs and young Ranjin Raj has come up with songs that have retained long lost Malayalam sensibilities..often reminding vintage Ilayaraja.Manesh Madhavans camera is crisp and bright and never brooding contrary to the mood of the cinema.
The movie is populated by Malayalam industries powerhouse performers.All of them are ordinanary looking and tailored for the part they played.The director deserves a pat for casting and the effectively executed accident scene near the climax.
To conclude Joseph is a highly satisfying experience for those who love their hours getting spent inside a dark hall expecting something worthwhile.