Level Cross story: Raghu, who has been serving as a railway gatekeeper in the middle of nowhere, finds Chaithali, who jumped off a train at his level cross. The duo get to know each other and find there is more common between them as would seem between a man, who has been living alone for years, and a psychiatrist, who has been enduring a turbulent relationship. But when Chaithali’s husband enters the fray, the dynamics between the three go for a toss, as terrifying secrets are revealed.

Level Cross review: The first few minutes of debutant Arfaz Ayub’s Level Cross is allotted to building the desert landscape where almost the entire story is set. Apart from the isolation it shows, this also builds up the mindscape of two of its three characters - where loneliness is predominant and they are not bound by the psychological rules that would separate the mentally stable and unstable. 

The story kicks off when Raghu, a gatekeeper located in the middle of nowhere, finds Chaithali, who fell from a moving train. Initially, she says she was pushed off the train, but after Raghu’s behaviour succeeds in allaying her fears, she admits she had jumped. As they share their stories and how they got there, the duo feel they have a lot in common; an element that Arfaz, who has also scripted this slow-burn psychological thriller, uses effectively towards the end of the movie.

The movie kicks up a gear when a third character - Zinjo (Sharafudheen) - enters the fray, and sows seeds of doubt in Raghu’s mind, forcing him to question whether he made a grace mistake of trusting someone despite having led a disciplined life in seclusion all this while. This is also where Level Cross keeps the audience in tenterhooks, wondering whom to trust and whose story to believe. To pull off that kind of unpredictability in a three-character film set in a single location takes a lot of belief and it pays off for Arfaz and also the audience who are willing to stick through till the end.

At less than two hours, the film is tight enough but still the filmmaker does let a few scenes linger a little too long; for instance, the sequence where Raghu and Chaithali share a room or where the latter takes a shower. Though the point was to show the scars and also the glimmer of hope for Raghu to break his loneliness, these were conveyed well with the actors’ performances and the latter especially appeared redundant.

The writing, though flat in places especially during Chaithali and Zinjo’s scenes, is layered; there are scenes where you would believe if this was all just a psychiatrist trying to break into a delusional patient's headspace. This is all the more apparent during the shock revelation of Raghu about his past to Chaithali and how she responds.

In fact, it's the performances of Amala Paul and Asif Ali that keep the audience hooked to the film. Amala shines as Chaithali and it's easily her best part in a Malayalam film. Her performance is so convincing that it keeps the audience guessing - which version of her story to believe. Though the prosthetic teeth serve as a huge distraction than complement the character, Asif plays Raghu with equal conviction and this is what makes the viewers empathise with his character, despite his cruel act. You would feel his loneliness is punishment enough but after he opens up to Chaithali and later begs to Zinjo, you are inclined to believe that he deserves a second chance, even if it turns into a love story between the criminally insane. 

Vishal Chandrasekhar’s music ably complements the pace of the film, which keeps the focus on the performances. Appu Prabhakar’s frames also help keep the audience glued to the screens, despite the limited setting.

Level Cross verdict: If you are a fan of slow-burn, psychological thrillers, then Arfaz Ayub’s confident debut makes for a good watch. The limited setting might be a turn off for many, but the director makes up for it with a plethora of twists and great performances by Amala Paul and Asif Ali.

Read Also: Family Drama movie review: Akarsh HP and Abhay deliver on their promise of a quirky comedy with aplomb