Athiran

Directed by Vivek, this 2019 Malayalam film takes place in an isolated psychiatric hospital in the high ranges of Kerala. Fahadh Faasil plays a psychiatrist who arrives to inspect the institution. Sai Pallavi appears as a young patient with unusual abilities, and the questions the doctor asks about her past start to unsettle the institution itself. The screenplay is by P. F. Mathews from a story by Vivek. The film uses a gothic frame: rain, corridors, a locked room, a staff in which nobody tells the truth. Atul Kulkarni plays the hospital's chief physician. The cinematography is generous with darkness, sometimes excessively so. Sai Pallavi's performance became the most discussed element. The film's use of autism as a mystery device, and the link it draws between diagnosis and extraordinary ability, drew criticism; that is a flaw worth knowing about before watching. Who it's for: viewers of psychological thrillers who value atmosphere over plot. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a film that takes representation seriously rather than using autism as a narrative trick.