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<\/picture><\/div>\nTamil cinema\u2019s tryst with high-concept thrillers is as rare as the occurrence of the Supermoon in Black <\/i>\u2014 the new Jiiva and Priya Bhavani Shankar-starrer. The mind-bending thriller takes an intriguing concept and with able performers at the core, does a neat job of emulating the thrilling moments of Coherence<\/i>, the 2013 Hollywood film on which it\u2019s based.<\/p>\n
In Black<\/i>, Jiiva and Priya play Vasanth and Aranya, a couple who decide to chill at their newly constructed row-house villa within a gated community. But before the duo reaches the location where most of the film unfolds, we are told how back in 1964, a time-based strange occurrence happened during a supermoon. Unsurprisingly, the incomprehensible\u00a0event occurs again and with no one to help, Vasanth and Aranya have to fight through what seems to defy the very law of time and physics as we know it.<\/p>\n With just two actors populating the majority of runtime, and almost the whole story evolving within the confines of a house in a gated community, the trump card of Black <\/i>is how intriguing it is from start to finish. With scenes looping multiple times and considering the repeated sequences will have more scenes than what was shown the first time around, Black <\/i>needed a strong technical team and debutant director KG Balasubramani pulls it off quite neatly along with cinematographer Gokul Benoy and editor Philomin Raj. The well-written screenplay neatly unfurls the questions in our minds even as the unravelling could have benefitted from better spacing. <\/p>\n Director: <\/b>KG Balasubramani<\/p>\n Cast: <\/b>Jiiva, Priya Bhavani Shankar, Vivek Prasanna, Yog Japee<\/p>\n Runtime: <\/b>117 minutes<\/p>\n Storyline: <\/b>A couple moves into a vacant gated community only to experience strange occurrences\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n After a series of shots establishing the personalities of Vasanth and Aranya, the relationship the couple shares and two annoying, unmerited songs, Black <\/i>shifts to top gear the moment the couple occupy their new house. The film slowly amps up the thrills as the story progresses and despite having only two primary characters (unlike its source material), Black<\/i> manages to keep us at the edge of our seats for the most part.<\/p>\n While the first half unravels at a break-neck speed, it\u2019s in the second half where the shortcomings come in full view. There\u2019s a scene where Vasanth, out of frustration, leaves his house dishevelled only for cops to think it has something to do with his missing wife. Though it might have felt like an organic scene while writing, it\u2019s anything but that visually. The film\u2019s most interesting aspect is the effect of the supermoon and how it casts a pitch-black force field within which our protagonists get trapped. Akin to a black hole, this field is so powerful that even light can\u2019t reflect and acts as a portal to different timelines. <\/p>\n \nA still from \u2018Black\u2019 <\/div>\n But the explanation to this comes at the fag end of the film and while it can be brushed aside as a writing choice, this results in a buttload of exposition with terms like super-positioning and parallel reality to urban legends like the Bermuda triangle and thought experiments like Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat thrown at us. While it might not hinder the experience of those accustomed to films on time-travel paradoxes, the references certainly overstay their welcome without much explanation to those alien to these concepts. <\/p>\n What makes it easy to look past these minor flaws, apart from the strong technical team, is the performance of the lead cast. While Jiiva makes a splendid comeback after a string of misses with a role that feels tailor-made for him, Priya scores in an equally important role as someone who asks the right questions to decipher the happenings to the audience without succumbing to the generic thriller trope of being the damsel in distress.<\/p>\n Despite reminding us of a slew of films and series on similar lines, Black <\/i>does justice to the genre without taking its viewers for granted and spoon-feeding information. While the lack of a simplified explanation might be a common criticism, that\u2019s what makes Black <\/i>\u2014 along with titles like the Kannada film Blink <\/i>which came out this year \u2014 stand apart from other films that lose their essence by challenging the audience\u2019s intellect. A gripping screenplay, able performers and a strong technical crew, accentuate this well-written thriller; and Black <\/i>manages to surpass its shortcomings and leaves us wishing we don\u2019t have to wait for another supermoon for such flicks. <\/p>\n Black is currently running in theatres<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Black (Tamil)<\/h5>\n
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