Arfaz Ayub’s intriguing ‘Level Cross’ puts Asif Ali, Amala Paul, and Sharaf U Dheen in psychological noir territory

Until interval point, the film works very well – but the big twist is defused soon after. And the second half suffers from pacing issues. But all said, this is a solid debut.

Level Crosswelcomes us with these words: “Beyond time and space, deep inside our mind, there’s a place in solitude…” As we gaze at the first few frames, these words acquire a new meaning. The “place in solitude” turns out to be a barren landscape surrounding a railway track, where the only thing seems to be a house painted in red and green: these are the same colours as the flags waved at passing trains by the level-crossing guard, named Raghu and played by Asif Ali. The barren landscape is presented to us with both pain and the strange beauty of abstract painting by cinematographer Appu Prabhakar – and it could well be a metaphor for the mind. The film is a psychological thriller, and we will slowly go on to delve into the minds of Raghu and two others: a mystery woman named Chaitali (Amala Paul), and her husband Zincho (Sharaf U Dheen). In case you want a taste of the flavour of this narrative, let me tell you that Raghu talks to a donkey that may or may not actually exist.

You can read the rest of the review here:

https://www.galattaplus.com/arfaz-ayubs-intriguing-level-cross-puts-asif-ali-amala-paul-and-sharaf-u-dheen-in-psychological-noir-territory/

You can watch the trailer / video review here:

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