Mercury movie review: Pretentious social drama

Director: Karthik Subbaraj

Cast: Prabhudeva, Sananth Reddy, Remya Nambeesan, Shashank Purushotham, Deepak Paramesh and others.

Karthik Subbaraj, who earlier directed Pizza brings you an one of its own kind of silent thriller, Mercury. With no dialogues and dance numbers, the film manages to entertain but motive behind the making this film is lost somewhere. Karthik clearly wants to tell facts and statistics of people died with mercury explosions till date but the flimsy plot surrounding it does enough damage.

The story revolves around five mute friends who plan a night out together and their life changes upside down when they find the dead Prabhudeva on an isolate road. Will these group of friends find the real killer or get trap in the unwanted mess? What happens next forms the rest of the crux.

The film has a clever plot but fails to keep up the momentum till the end. However, Karthik does a successful attempt in making a silent film which is true to it genre, but is enjoyable in parts. First half holds enough promise but second half downslides completely. Looks like, Karthik just lost the plot and his story goes haywire. By the time, you will understand that why the film is titled Mercury, its too late. Few bits in the film will remind you of Reema Kagti’s supernatural thriller Talaash but this one is not half as gripping as Talaash.

Although, Karthik creates a wonderful world around his dumb and blind characters but couldn’t manage to scare even a bit. He couldn’t fall back on the background score which ideally should be the backbone of the film. He tries too hard to impress by penning a twisted plot but it appears to be staged and formulated. The climax is too melodramatic barring few chase sequences pre climax shot in the chemical factory.

Prabhudeva’s presence is good but not petrifying considering he is highlighted as a villain in the film. Though, his weird walk, facial expressions and screams does gather attention but he is just about okay. Sananth Reddy packs a solid punch with his power packed performance. He is the driving force of Mercury, rest of the leads are just about average including the supporting cast.

Overall, Mercury is a below average thriller which can be watched if you have nothing great to do over this weekend. Don’t expect an extraordinary plot or performances! You may be more intelligent than this highly preachy social drama.

Watch 'Mercury' trailer here: