Star
Cast:
Fahadh
Faasil,
Soubin
Shahir,
Darshana
Rajendran
Director:
Naseef
Yusuf
Izuddin
Irul,
the
mystery
crime
thriller
premiered
on
Netflix
today
(April
2,
2021).
The
movie,
which
features
Fahadh
Faasil,
Soubin
Shahir,
and
Darshana
Rajendran
in
the
lead
roles,
is
directed
by
newcomer
Naseef
Yusuf
Izuddin.
As
the
highly
impressive
trailer
suggested,
Irul
is
a
cat
and
mouse
game
between
the
three
protagonists,
who
get
stranded
in
a
mansion.
Did
the
crime
thriller
live
up
to
expectations?
Read
Irul
movie
review
here,
to
know...
Alex
Parayil
(Soubin
Shahir)
a
budding
novelist,
is
in
a
relationship
with
Archana
Pillai
(Darshana
Rajendran),
a
high
court
lawyer.
Alex
plans
a
no-mobile
getaway
with
Archana
in
a
hill
station,
to
take
a
break
from
the
busy
city
life.
However,
the
couple
ends
up
in
an
old
mansion
after
a
turn
of
events,
where
they
meet
a
stranger
(Fahadh
Faasil).
The
real
horror
begins
after
the
trio
discovers
a
woman's
dead
body
in
the
basement
of
the
mansion.
Who
is
the
murderer?
Script
&
Direction
Naseef
Yusuf
Izuddin
makes
his
directorial
debut
with
Irul,
which
is
penned
by
Sunil
Yadav
(story,
primary
screenplay,
and
primary
dialogues).
The
screenplay
and
dialogues
are
penned
by
the
director
himself,
along
with
Abhiram
Radhakrishnan,
Anas
Bil
Ibrahim,
and
Obeth
S
Thomas.
The
biggest
strength
of
Irul
is
its
first
half,
which
begins
on
a
highly
impressive
note.
The
organic
suspense
build-up
and
edge-of-the-seat
narrative
make
the
movie
a
riveting
experience
initially.
The
deep-layered
characters
are
neatly
placed
in
the
edgy
yet
exciting
cat
and
mouse
game,
which
keeps
the
audience
hooked
to
a
certain
extent.
But
Irul
falters
when
it
comes
to
the
second
half
with
an
almost
messy
narrative,
that
eventually
ends
in
a
half-baked
climax.
After
the
major
revelations,
the
guessing
game
gets
to
a
point
where
it
becomes
tiring.
Another
factor
that
plays
the
spoilsport
is
the
artificiality
in
dialogues,
especially
during
one
of
the
most
crucial
conversations
between
the
leading
trio.
The
character
arcs
too
seem
out
of
the
blue
and
leave
the
viewers
with
too
many
doubts.
Performances
Fahadh
Faasil
once
again
sets
the
screens
on
fire
with
his
stellar
performance
as
the
stranger
in
the
mansion.
The
National
award-winner
stuns
with
his
effortlessness
in
the
most
crucial
scenes,
where
his
character
undergoes
major
shade
changes.
It
is
impossible
to
think
of
another
actor,
who
can
play
this
role
with
same
perfection.
Soubin
Shahir's
performance,
however,
leaves
us
with
mixed
feelings.
There
are
occasional
moments
of
brilliance
throughout
the
film,
but
the
character
Alex
has
also
thrown
light
on
Soubin's
shortcomings
as
a
performer.
The
actor
definitely
needs
to
work
on
his
dialogue
delivery
and
diction.
Darshana
Rajendran
is
brilliant
as
always
in
the
role
of
Archana
Pillai.
The
actress
has
effectively
conveyed
the
confusion,
helplessness,
and
fear
of
her
character
with
her
matured
acting
skills.
We
wish
to
watch
Darshana
in
more
author-backed
roles
like
this.
Technical
Aspects
Jomon
T
John
ISC,
the
DOP
once
again
proves
his
caliber
with
the
brilliant
visuals
of
Irul.
The
cinematographer
has
kept
the
eeriness
alive
throughout
the
film
by
effectively
using
darkness,
as
the
title
suggests.
The
6-minute-long
shot,
which
features
a
conversation
between
the
leading
trio,
deserves
a
huge
round
of
applause.
Shameer
Muhammed's
editing
is
top-notch
in
the
first
half.
But
the
narrative
feels
stretched
when
it
enters
the
second
half,
despite
having
1.16
hours
of
runtime.
Sreerag
Saji,
the
music
composer
scores
with
an
effective
background
score.
The
sound,
art,
stunt,
and
costume
departments
have
done
remarkable
jobs.
Verdict
Irul
is
a
dark,
edge-of-the-seat
thriller
that
begins
on
a
highly
promising
note
but
ends
half-baked.
However,
Fahadh
Faasil's
stellar
performance
makes
this
film
worth
a
watch.