FootFairy movie review is here. The &pictures original is a one of its kind direct to TV release on 24th October at 9 pm. The dark de noir psychological thriller directed by Kanishk Varma stars Gulshan Devaiah, Sagarika Ghatge and Kunaal Roy Kapur in pivotal roles.
FootFairy Story
A determined CBI officer Vivaan Deshmukh (Gulshan Devaiah), sets off, in pursuit of a mysterious serial killer, that strikes and kills women for his absurd feet obsession. The nail-biting cat and mouse chase unravel the maddening dark world of obsession and to what extent it can take you.
FootFairy movie review
There is a famous Japanese saying about the three faces every human has. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone. Debutant director Kanishk Varma’s dark psychological irony FootFairy probes that ‘unseen’ face of its characters in an absorbingly sombre de noir tribute to the Gods like Alfred Hitchcock and its pupils like Wes Craven, David Fincher, Bong Joon-ho to name a few.
A dystopian approach to storytelling is not everyone’s cup of tea. The biggest take away of FootFairy is the incredible ability of the director Kanishk Verma and writer Ashish Pathode to influence/manipulate/involve the audience and get them on their ‘foot’. It’s impossible for any viewer (can be just for a sec but still) not to have a glance at those feet whenever a female character pops up on screen.
Bingo! Gotcha! Here the filmmaker Kanishk in his very first movie grabs the audience’s mind and eye at one go.
A simple cat and mouse saga is structured by realistic characterizations, simple, easy and human way of getting attention, snaky twist at the right time, right amount of tension, a bit of shock, no celebration of gore and blood plus no worship of evil.
Rather, it’s a dark psychological journey of certain people in certain situations with different reactions.
After the web series Asur starring Arshad Warsi and Barun Sobti and the movie Raman Raghav 2 starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vicky Kaushal, FootFairy joins the league and surprisingly its hands are less soaked in blood, but the cruelty is intact.
The narration flows smoothly and the performance by the main leads adds solid value.
Gulshan Devaiah excels. Ashish Pathode as Gulshan’s right hand is fantastic. Sagarika Ghatge as the one who is interested in understanding psychopaths/serial killers is enduring. Kunaal Roy Kapur makes his presence felt.
Enhanced by Jeet Gannguli’s atmospheric background score, Sumit Purohit’s crisp editing and Pratik Deora’s brilliant camerawork, FootFairy gets the badge of a well-crafted dark thriller without much protest.
Flaws
The traditional cat and mouse lovers, this may be a bit puzzling. I wanted some more insight into this ‘unknown’ ‘hidden’ human face/mind debate. Some things are hurried during the second half. At some point the ‘mystery’ element loses its charm.
Final words
Anchored by strong acts, FootFairy is a rare dark psychological de noir thriller that unfolds in layers and conveys the irony of the ‘unseen’ human face.
pic/poster courtesy: & Pictures
