Stephen Review: Raw but Inconsistent Psycho Thriller

BOTTOM LINE
Raw but Inconsistent Psycho Thriller

PLATFORM
NETFLIX

RUNTIME
U/A 16+ | 2 hours

What Is the Film About?

Stephen, raised in a dysfunctional family, loses his parents early and aspires to be a filmmaker. While casting the female lead for his project, he traumatises the aspirant actors during auditions. Subsequently, cop Michael is in pursuit of a criminal who has killed nine women. Soon, Stephen himself admits to the killings and surrenders at the station, prompting counsellor Seema to try and decode his dark past.

Performances

Gomathi Shankar delivers an impressive, original performance as the psychopath; he lends the character a scary common-manly quality, which makes the part all the more creepy. Kuberan and Vijayashree, as Stephen’s parents, have an arresting, impactful screen presence. Smruthi Venkat and Michael Thangadurai’s roles show flashes of potential, though they remain visibly underdeveloped. The others don’t get much scope to prove their mettle.

Analysis

Stephen’s very first sequence, of an apprehensive child taking a Ferris wheel ride in the middle of the night, alone, upon his parents’ insistence, immediately signals the wild ride it aims to be. Years later, this visual motif evolves into an audition where many women are uncomfortable in the presence of the 20-something Stephen, desperate to elicit a raw performance from the wannabe actors, leading to his multiple crimes.

The film, a thriller helmed by Mithun Balaji, attempts to delve into the mind of a psychopath, utilising an unreliable narrator. The muted tone and flashy edits lend it a distinct visual style from the start. There’s an unnerving calm around Stephen as he narrates episodes from his past to counsellor Seema; his confessions are cold, a little too convenient, and lack any discernible emotion.

Beneath the beast, Stephen appears as an average Joe on the street, seemingly harmless. The counselling sessions tap into the storm beneath the calm. Predictably, they expose a toxic upbringing that attempts to connect all the dots about his problematic behaviour. His parents are constantly at war with one another; their anger issues eventually alter the way Stephen views the world.

Though Stephen is too calculated and shrewd as a narrator to be trusted, the drastic power shift between his mother and father after a fiasco (in the flashback) is unusually riveting. It remains difficult to discern which part of his story is true or fake, yet the precision in the storytelling keeps you immersed. The setup is simplistic, but one senses director Mithun’s hunger to flip the template and break a few norms.

Most of Stephen’s episodes aren’t shocking or fresh on a writing level, yet Mithun’s unusual staging keeps the viewer hooked. The dialogues are snappy, the frames are intentionally cramped, and the lighting is almost dark in the childhood episodes. A little after the first hour, when hints of a Biblical parallel with Stephen’s characterisation emerge, genuine interest is sparked, but the film quickly goes downhill thereafter.

The subplots around Mary and Krithika further amplify the writing struggles. Mary’s psychological transformation is bizarre, while Krithika’s character graph ends too predictably. While the film is named after Stephen for good reason, insufficient care was taken to flesh out the cop and counsellor roles; they merely try to fill in the narrative blanks whenever the viewer is in disarray.

The film preserves its best for the final segment through a supernatural touch, where Stephen is in conversation with everyone he has killed to date. All the subplots and arcs that previously looked too easy on the eye finally start making sense. Mithun turns the script on its head and avoids a simplistic resolution, setting up a fantastic lead to a sequel.

Ultimately, the ‘parts’ in the film work much better than the ‘whole’. Stephen aims to be a unique psycho thriller with a distinct visual style. The technical finesse is memorable, but the overall effort is undone by an erratic narrative and simplistic writing.

Music and Other Departments?

Stephen scores big in terms of its technical finesse. While Raghav Rayan’s music gives ample space for the story and the mood of a scene to evolve and intensify, the two main pillars of the film are the cinematography (by Gokul Krishna) and the editing. They provide an edginess to the visuals and the storytelling style, almost helping a viewer overlook some of its writing problems.

Highlights?

Unconventional narrative style

Good performances

Technical finesse

Drawbacks?

Inconsistent/simplistic writing

Under-developed characters

Did I Enjoy It?

In parts

Will You Recommend It?

If you can stomach a raw yet imperfect psycho thriller, try it

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