'Eesho' review: Jayasurya anchors a slow-burn thriller

Eesho

Malayalam (SonyLiv)

Director: Nadirsha

Cast: Jayasurya, Namitha Pramod, Jaffer Idukki

Rating: 3/5

'Eesho' is a typical Malayalam chill-meets-thriller movie. The movie takes its own sweet time to set up the premise before getting to the meat of the story.

It opens with the story of a child abuse case that happens in a school and how the system turns a blind eye towards it by blaming the child’s mother. The movie then establishes the character of Ramachandran Pillai, a local ATM security guard, who is being hunted down by the village’s rich landlord for witnessing something he shouldn’t have.

While Ramachandran goes back to his work at the ATM for his unavoidable nightshift, fearing that at any moment he could be murdered, an uninvited guest suddenly shows up almost immediately, ensuing a short-term but uncomfortable friendship for Ramachandran.

Jayasurya who plays the role of Eesho, the uninvited guest, does a great job of adding mystery to the character. His way of making the dialogues seem like a natural conversation adds a lot of value to the film's flow. The rest of the movie progresses with Ramachandran in the middle and a potential headhunt from the landlord’s people and an unpredictable, almost crazy man as a companion, through the night.

Altogether, the movie is a one-time watch. It has all the recipes of a thriller yet it falls short in some departments. Nadirsha's direction is ordinary. The edits are never at the right time and that stops the film from being gripping. The background score doesn't create any tension needed for the thriller. Given the nice build-up, the predictable climax is a major let down.