Trance (2020)

Trance (2020) is a Malayalam drama starring Fahadh Faasil, a struggling motivational speaker named Viju who gets recruited as a religious preacher by a big scam group. I liked the first half of the film where Viju struggles with his emotional baggage from tragedies in his family while not losing hope about becoming successful. The second half was dull and needlessly lengthy and becomes the usual hero vs bad guys story. Gets a Mangoidiots rating of ‘Raw’. Is available on Amazon Prime Video.

The way ordinary Viju Prasad is transformed to Pastor Joshua Carlton (JC as in Jesus Christ!) was enjoyable. If Director Anwar Rasheed had maintained the flow this would’ve been an entertainer, instead, it drifts into a psychological drama and loses its identity.

Nazriya Nazim has a limited but has given an impressive role as Esther Lopez, the assistant to Pastor Joshua Carlton. Director Gautham Menon has played the role of the main villain Solomon Davis. I like Soubin Shahir from his earlier films Android Kunjappan and Kumbalangi Nights, in this too he has given a convincing performance as the news reporter and a critic of the Pastor.

The makers deserve credit for handling the sensitive subject of religion, and to show how bad actors exploit the belief of the innocent masses. That and the good acting by Fahadh Faasil are the only good things in Trance (2020).

Trance (2020)