'Test' review: R Madhavan's powerful performance can't save scattershot thriller
What's the story
S Sashikanth's Test, streaming on Netflix, boasts a strong ensemble cast in the form of Siddharth, R Madhavan, and Nayanthara.
It also has an interesting, ripe backdrop and combines the lives of three diametrically different characters.
However, it is undercut by its weak, haphazard writing, becoming an excessively long, soporific, and dull affair you eventually couldn't care less about.
Premise
Underlines the lives of three closely-linked characters
Test follows the lives of Kumudha (Nayanthara), her husband Saravanan (Madhavan), and her childhood friend and popular cricketer Arjun (Siddharth).
Arjun is grappling with an incredibly rough patch in his career; time is running out for Kumudha's IVF treatment, and Saravanan is buried under a huge debt.
When their lives intertwine in the most unexpected ways, will it be for better or worse?
#1
Tries its hands at several genres
First and foremost, Test doesn't know the genre it wants to fit into.
Is it a drama about a middle-class couple and their aspirations; is it a thriller, a cat-and-mouse chase between characters; or is it a propulsive cricket drama?
It wants to be all of this all at once, never properly committing to any one tone.
#2
More on the above problem
The film swerves awkwardly between these different genres.
One moment, it's a warm drama focusing on Kumudha and Saravanan, and the next minute, it focuses on Arjun's crumbling career, seemingly on the precipice of demise.
Several goons, blackmailers, and cops are thrown into the mix, too, making the film a confusing, patience-testing affair.
#3
Too many unnecessary scenes slow down the narrative
Test begins on an awkward, shaky ground and remains that way for a very long time.
In fact, it's only after the first hour that some action begins to dominate the screen.
The film wastes precious time on stretched-out conversations, giving us hardly any insights into the characters' lives and wasting an interesting, if predictable, premise.
#4
Never feels organic and natural
The tonal discrepancies also work against the movie, and you won't know where one scene ends and the other begins.
Several conflicts, mainly those in Arjun's life, feel artificial, the dialogues are too in-your-face, and a smooth, natural transition between scenes is tragically amiss.
The film ties itself in a knot and is all over the place, despite the leads' convincing performances.
#5
Actors, especially Madhavan, give their best to save it
While all actors do justice to their roles and try to salvage this sinking ship, Madhavan goes a step ahead and greatly surprises you.
His range is on display in all his scenes with Nayanthara, especially intense confrontational sequences.
His powerful expressions are a great match for her piercing gaze, and the film is watchable when they both (especially Madhavan) are on-screen.
Verdict
One of Netflix India's weakest projects, skip it;1.5/5 stars
Actors can try, but they can hardly save disjointed, middling projects, and Test is no different.
For a cricket-based drama, it's too lifeless, bland, and devoid of any energy.
It's clean-bowled easily, and if there were a boredom league, Test would win it.
Watch a real cricket match instead!
1.5/5 stars.