Mercury
Movie
Review:
Prabhu
Deva
|
Karthik
Subbaraj
|
Indhuja
|
Sananth
Reddy
|
FilmiBeat
Rating:
2.5/5
Star
Cast:
Prabhu
Deva,
Sananth
Reddy,
Deepak
Paramesh,
Shashank
Purushotham,
Remya
Nambeesan
Director:
Karthik
Subbaraj
There's
something
eerie
in
Karthik
Subbaraj's
Mercury
right
from
the
first
frame
itself.
You
already
sense
danger
for
the
protagonists
in
the
frightening
world
created
by
the
filmmaker
and
want
to
reach
out
to
them
before
they
meet
their
doom.
With
absolutely
no
spoken
dialogues
in
the
film,
Mercury
relies
heavily
on
the
audience's
sensory
to
put
across
a
social
message
that
is
importantly
the
need
of
this
hour.
You
need
to
keep
your
eyes
glued
to
the
screen
lest
you
would
miss
an
important
clue.
That's
the
place
where
Mercury
emerges
a
winner.
It
keeps
you
hooked
barring
a
few
slips
here
and
there.
Coming
to
the
plot,
it
begins
with
a
group
of
five
friends-
four
boys
(Deepak
Paramesh,
Anish
Padmanabhan,
Sananth
Reddy,
Shashank
Purushotham)
and
a
girl
(Indhuja)-
each
deaf
and
mute,
enjoying
themselves
by
dancing
to
some
high-pitch
music
late
night.
It's
the
girl's
birthday.
And
did
we
tell
you
one
of
the
lads
is
heads
over
heels
in
love
with
her
and
is
looking
forward
to
propose
her?
You
slowly
realize
that
these
specially-abled
people
believe
in
enjoying
their
lives
to
the
fullest.
Few
scenes
later,
you
find
the
group
of
friends
heading
towards
the
wood.
Post
some
romance
blooming
between
the
lovebirds
under
a
moon-lit
sky,
the
gang
heads
back
home.
On
their
way,
an
unfortunate
event
leads
them
to
a
dead
body
(Prabhudeva).
Scared
to
their
wits,
they
dump
the
body
near
an
abandoned
chemical
plant
called
'Corporate
Earth'
and
drive
away.
However
the
next
morning
when
they
return
back
to
the
burial
spot
to
recover
one
of
the
boy's
missing
I-pad,
they
discover
the
dead
body
missing
from
the
spot.
The
rest
of
the
plot
deals
with
connection
between
the
characters,
events
and
mercury.
Karthik
Subharaj
is
successful
in
building
up
the
suspense
in
his
film
which
revolves
around
the
subject
of
mercury
poisoning,
corporate
corruption
and
negligence.
He
makes
sure
that
your
eyes
never
leave
the
screen.
Mercury
comes
with
its
set
of
limitations
since
it's
a
silent
thriller.
But
the
director
gets
his
ingredients
bang
on
to
give
you
some
'chills'
and
'thrills'.
On
the
flipside,
there
are
a
few
scenes
especially
in
the
first
half
which
might
remind
you
of
'I
Know
What
You
Did
Last
Summer'.
Now,
that's
something
which
you
are
definitely
not
looking
for
in
a
Karthik
Subbaraj
film.
Further,
a
few
familiar
horror
tropes
let
you
down
a
bit.
Speaking
about
the
performances,
the
young
actors
(Deepak
Paramesh,
Anish
Padmanabhan,
Sananth
Reddy,
Shashank
Purushotham,
Indhuja)
put
up
a
commendable
performance.
Prabhudeva's
spooky
avatar
will
definitely
leave
you
surprised
and
has
some
'chilling' scenes
to
his
credit.
My
favourite
one
is
that
of
him
prowling
out
of
darkness,
his
fingers
dancing
on
the
edges
of
crimped
metal.
Be
it
the
sound
of
the
appetizers
sizzling
in
hot
oil
or
the
clanging
of
metals,
Mercury
relies
heavily
on
sound
to
create
an
engrossing
ambience.
Santosh
Narayanan's
background
score
and
Kunal
Ranjan's
sound
design
adds
life
to
the
film.
S.
Tirru's
top-notch
cinematography
perfectly
captures
the
misty
hills,
chilly
nights
and
adds
a
toxic
green
when
there
is
danger
lurking
in
the
second
half.
Karthik
Subbaraj's
brave
attempt
needs
to
applauded
when
it
comes
to
some
experimentation
in
Indian
cinema.
Mercury
fails
to
stay
firm
on
its
feet
due
to
a
cluttered
narrative
and
a
few
loopholes
which
leave
some
questions
unanswered.
Go
for
this
one
only
if
you
are
in
the
mood
for
something
'hatke'.
For
the
rest,
this
silence
isn't
gold.