alone movie review mohanlal

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala. A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala. A man named Kalidas gets stranded due to the pandemic lock-down when he travels from Coimbatore to Kerala.

• Shaji Kailas
• Rajesh Jayaraman
• 9 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Shaji Kailas' son Jagan Kailas debuted as an associate director in the film.
• Soundtracks Life Is A Mystery Lyrics by Mick Garry Additional lyrics by Biby Mathew and Eldhose Alias Sung by Mick Garry

User reviews 9

• aimless_fool
• Mar 10, 2023
• How long is Alone? Powered by Alexa
• January 26, 2023 (India)
• Untitled Mohanlal Film
• Kochi, Kerala, India (apartment)
• Aashirvad Cinemas
• Confident Group
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 2 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

'Alone' movie review: A daring experiment that becomes a tiring experience

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown continue to be a source of never-ending stories that range from romance to supernatural thrillers. It has also proven to be a fertile setting for novel experiments. Alone is one such attempt—a single-actor film set largely in one location. It’s in stark contrast to the Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas duo’s usual larger-than-life mass entertainers that celebrate the superstar, his mundu swag, and the iconic meesha piri. In Alone, not once does Mohanlal wear a mundu nor does he twirl his moustache, but that doesn’t mean this film is short of gimmicks. In fact, it has a lot...

The narrative begins with Mohanlal’s character Kalidasan reaching an apartment complex in Kochi during the lockdown. After encountering some strange incidents in his flat, he starts unraveling a lot of mysteries. But all of this is before the final twist, which has become a routine in most Mohanlal films of late. However, his uninspired performance worsens things. There is a shade of eccentricity to his character, and it should have been a cakewalk for someone who aced similar roles in films like Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu (1998) and Thalavattom (1986), but all we get to see is a pale shadow of his old self. At times, his mannerisms reminded me of the dismal Alexander the Great (2010), which arguably had one of his weakest performances to date.

Alone also has voice-acting by popular actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Annie, Rachana Narayanankutty, and Nandu among others. Among them, Prithviraj’s Hari Bhai is the best-written character and it is enhanced by the actor’s delightful rendering of the Thironthoram slang, which sounds way better than what he did recently in Kaapa. In an ordinary film without any such experiments, the Kalidasan-Hari Bhai portions would have been thoroughly enjoyable.

Alone is somewhat similar to Jayasurya’s 2021 film Sunny in terms of how they both are single-actor films set during the pandemic. However, what distinguishes Sunny from Alone is the former’s superior technical quality. The film is ruined with tacky visuals and shoddy VFX, which is probably because the film was originally planned as a direct OTT release. The strange camera angles and sound design intended to invoke jump scares and a sense of spookiness hardly create any impact. Rajesh Jayaraman’s script has a supernatural angle to it, but it seems like the makers tried too hard to make it look like one.

Right from the intro sequence Shaji Kailas has employed all his trademark gimmicks—the zigzag camera movements, flashy cuts, and the unnecessarily deafening background score—resulting in a headache-inducing experience. In a couple of scenes in Alone, Mohanlal is seen wearing a T-shirt that screams the word ‘vintage’. But sadly, this film doesn’t even have a glimpse of the good old vintage Mohanlal or Shaji Kailas. To put it bluntly, it’s an experiment gone terribly wrong.

Film: Alone Director: Shaji Kailas Cast: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran (voice), Manju Warrier (voice) Rating: 1.5/5

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp  

Download the TNIE app to stay with us and follow the latest

Related Stories

• Daily BO Update
• Daily Breakdown
• Hits & Flops
• All Time Grossers
• Highest Grossers
• Highest Openers
• Highest Weekend
• Best of Overseas
• Hollywood Highest
• Fact-o-meter
• Entertainment News
• Bollywood News
• Television & Web
• Fashion & Lifestyle
• Bigg Boss 17
• Hollywood News
• What To Watch
• Bollywood Movie Reviews
• Hollywood Movie Reviews
• All South Movie Reviews
• Tamil Movie Reviews
• Telugu Movie Reviews
• Kannada Movie Reviews
• Malayalam Movie Reviews
• Marathi Movie Reviews
• Web Series Reviews
• Music Reviews
• Box Office Reviews
• Trailer Reviews
• BO Filmometer
• Stars’ Power Index
• Directors’ Power Index
• 100 Crore Club
• Worldwide 200 Crores+
• Profitable Films
• Recommended Movies
• Upcoming Movies
• Released Movies
• Web Stories
• About Koimoi

Home » Reviews » Malayalam Movie Reviews

Alone Movie Review: How Did Someone Convince Mohanlal To Join This Circus Of A Film Is The Real Mystery

One can only observe that mohanlal is busy discovering the rock bottom as he continues to give his worst with alone.

Star Cast: Mohanlal.

Director: Shaji Kailas.

What’s Good: A crisp runtime that makes one suffer less.

What’s Bad: The idea in itself. The confusion about what to focus on. Mohanlal’s conviction to make this work.

Loo Break: Stay in there and watch some reels maybe.

Watch or Not?: There is no other polite way to say this, but don’t. Never thought I would say this for a Mohanlal movie.

Language: Malayalam (with subtitles)

Available on: disney+ Hotstar.

Runtime: 122 Minutes.

Amidst the pandemic, a man named Kalidas (Mohanlal) with his fancy mask moves into a new apartment in a very posh high-rise building. Soon he begins to observe some supernatural elements around him and he gets on the job to find out what it is. A murder mystery is unraveled leading to one of the most problematic climaxes ever.

Alone Movie Review: Script Analysis

The pandemic and what followed is a classic setup for filmmakers to write and make movies on. Some have even tried their hands and managed to churn out good stories. The most recent half-baked attempt starring Nayanthara was Connect . But if you thought that half-baked attempt and the rock bottom is close enough, let me show you Mohanlal unfortunately exploring the deeper rock bottom with a movie that rarely qualifies as anything but a script like some drunk person wrote all the blurry mixed idea on a piece of paper he found at the bar.

Alone as the name suggests as just one actor acts all the time and God somebody save Mohanlal, please. The movie opens like it is the smartest of them all. A man with too many colourful t-shirts and obsessed with liquor enters a posh society. The logic leaves the building the very minute he enters a room numbered 13A and he is surprised that it is ghosted. It had to be sir! Now there is a pandemic ongoing and one must look at the idea of only keeping Mohanlal in frame and making every character a voice speaking over calls or from behind doors or as ghost in the void. Alone never even tries to bring in some substance because it is so invested in telling a story that is boring and bizarre.

Screenplay written by Rajesh Jayaraman, Alone is the funniest mystery movie you will see because there is a man who is jumping and walking like an animated character bending every system possible talking like a cult leader wearing beach t-shirts. He enjoys when he hears someone break somebody’s bones and says ‘good job’. What is this even? Also, the aforementioned ghost has no say in the entire case only to realise that their existence was questionable extent. The end twist is so done to death that you can literally ignore the climax. But the biggest question is where is the consequence to a man with so big criminal instinct? He drives his Batmobile looking car into a vibrant oblivion like he has fans for doing that. No one can decode what this movie is.

Alone Movie Review: Star Performance

Mohanlal is busy giving us one after the other worst performances and this is the limit now. The actor was definitely forced to do this because there is no other explanation to what he does. Everything about this character looks so forced that he is not believable for even a minute.

Alone Movie Review: Direction, Music

My mind refuses to believe that Mohanlal and Shaji Kailas together have given us Narasimham. How can a pairing so successful go so abysmally wrong?

Add to that a super loud background score and a badly shaky cinematography that is attempting to look like a very edgy aspect. Everybody needs to run away from taking credits in this bowl.

Alone Movie Review: The Last Word

One can only observe that Mohanlal is busy discovering the rock bottom as he continues to give his worst with Alone. You have much better options and this is not one of them. You can skip it.

Alone Trailer

Alone releases on 26 January, 2023.

Share with us your experience of watching Alone.

For more recommendations, read our Kaapa Movie Review here.

Must Read: Dhamaka Movie Review: Ravi Teja Starrer Is Far Away From Logic & Farther From Entertaining

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube | Telegram | Google News

RELATED ARTICLES

After Four Years Of Its Release, This Mystery Thriller Has Garnered Global Attention On Netflix

Kapil Sharma & Guru Randhawa’s Teams Up For Break Up Anthem ‘Alone’ Former Shares His Excitement: “I Have Been Passionate …”

Vikram Vedha Fame Yogita Bihani On Working With Kapil Sharma In ‘Alone’: “I Feel I Have Unknowingly Manifested This Moment”

Check this out.

Is #RC17 the Next Chapter Of Rangasthalam? Ram Charan Fans Speculate...

Swatantrya Veer Savarkar Box Office Collection Day 5: Stays Steady, Has...

Pathaan 2 Exciting Updates: Siddharth Anand Out, Deepika Padukone’s Return Confirmed...

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire At The China Box Office:...

Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2: A Controversial Explosion Ahead? Dibakar Banerjee...

Salma Hayek Was Bullied & Harassed By Harvey Weinstein During Frida’s...

Don't miss.

Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’s Jennifer Mistry Unhappy With Sexual Harassment...

When Tabu Said She Doesn’t Think It’s Wrong To Play Lustful...

Director Clarifies Why Rick Moranis & Sigourney Weaver Are Absent...

Patna Shuklla Movie Review: Raveena Tandon Makes You Wait For Her Moment To Turn A Hero But Never Arrives To Justify Why She Is...

Crew Movie Review: Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan & Kriti Sanon Brilliantly Show That Girls Just Want To Have Fun!

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Movie Review: Godzilla and Kong Come Back Bigger Than Ever In This Globe-Trotting Adventure Film

Review Of ‘Aadujeevitham-The Goat Life’ – Prithviraj Deserves National Award For His Performance

• Privacy Policy

• Sports News
• Top 10 Lists
• Streaming Services
• Newsletters
• OTTplay Awards
• OTT Replay 2023
• Changemakers

Home » Review » Alone review: Mohanlal’s one-actor thriller needed more intriguing elements than stars’ voices to be engaging »

Alone review: Mohanlal’s one-actor thriller needed more intriguing elements than stars’ voices to be engaging

The only hurdle for Alone’s protagonist probably comes in the third act, but by then the makers begin to spoon-feed the audience and then straps it with a supposed ‘clever ending’

• Sanjith Sidhardhan

Last Updated: 12.27 PM, Jan 26, 2023

Story: Kalidasan, a motivational speaker, moves into an apartment in Kochi during the pandemic lockdown. Soon, he starts hearing voices – of a mother and her daughter. Those close to him, whom he reaches out through phone calls, blame it on his alcoholic tendency and the stress during the lockdown. Kalidasan, however, is convinced that there is more to it and ventures to seek the source of the voices and secrets behind them.

Review: A movie with just Mohanlal in it would have been a mouth-watering proposition for many while the actor was in his prime. His spontaneous expressions and presence alone would have carried the film. Alone, a single-actor movie helmed by Shaji Kailas, had the setting in place, even though the timing of its release is probably at least a year too late. But does it work? Not quite.

For single-actor films to truly hold the audience’s attention, an intriguing plot is a must. Alone has a capable actor in Mohanlal but the movie travels through so many of the protagonist’s quirks and acquaintances that the focus from its core plot veers every now and then. The central arc in the movie revolves around its protagonist Kalidasan, who shifts to an apartment during the pandemic lockdown, setting out, within the confines of the complex, to investigate the source of the voices he hears. With every step, he also unravels new clues and secrets, but without much effort and this again makes it a convenient flow of events. The only hurdle for Alone’s protagonist probably comes in the third act, but by then the makers begin to spoon-feed the audience and then straps it with a supposed ‘clever ending’.

To the makers’ credit, unlike the chamber thrillers that were released during the pandemic, Alone never feels claustrophobic. Even though the protagonist roams around with a disinfectant spray and the film is extensively set inside an apartment and its corridors, the character has enough space to move around. Even the distracting visuals of a sky view from the apartment, which is only on the 13th floor, add to that.

But a few constraints could have actually benefitted a single-actor film like Alone, which could have been edited better. The scenes, which details its protagonist making tea, omlette and even semiya payasam, could have been eliminated to focus on what is driving Kalidasan crazy in the first place. Instead, we have the character lingering in the corridors and spelling out alphabets, much longer than what’s required.

While Mohanlal is the only actor you see on screen, the movie has host of stars lending their voices to characters – not all of whom are pivotal to the story. For instance, Prithviraj’s Hari bhai, a criminal who has been transformed by Kalidasan’s motivational speeches, is integral because his character also gives you an idea of what’s happening outside Kalidasan’s world. Manju Warrier, Nandu, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Suresh Krishna, Baiju Santosh and others have all lent their voices. In fact, after a point, the audience’s focus could almost shift towards identifying who is the face behind the voice. Another unwanted distraction. The music of the film too, at times, becomes jarring because you have up-tempo music painting the protagonist as a ‘mass’ hero when none of his prior actions warranted it.

The third act of Alone is probably what salvages the movie a bit, showing another side of Kalidasan’s character. But again, it’s not a film where you should look for logic, even though the writer and filmmaker try to explain their rationale, in a haphazard ending.

Verdict: Mohanlal’s Alone was a film that was made for OTT, right after the lockdown rules were lifted. It would have benefitted the movie if the team would have followed through with their plan in 2021 itself.

WHERE TO WATCH

• New OTT Releases
• Web Stories
• Streaming services
• Latest News
• Movies Releases
• Cookie Policy
• Shows Releases
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Subscriber Agreement

• THE WEEK TV
• ENTERTAINMENT
• WEB STORIES
• JOBS & CAREER
• Home Home -->
• Review Review -->
• Movies Movies -->

'Alone' review: Mohanlal keeps us entertained in a sluggish one-actor thriller

Rajesh Jayaraman's script struggles to keep the audience hooked

The plot of the Malayalam film Alone is set in 2020 when India witnessed a frightening surge in the number of Covid-19 cases and the protagonist, Kalidas (Mohanlal), a motivational speaker, is the only character seen on screen. He has just relocated to a flat in Kochi from Coimbatore.

Kalidas starts to hear conversations between a mother and a daughter in his head. Soon after, a series of strange occurrences indicate the presence of someone else in the flat. Despite the fact that his friend Yamuna (Manju Warrier) blames it on his excessive drinking, he resolves to pursue the spirits and secrets behind the sounds.

Many of Kalidas’s acquaintances are introduced to the audience through their voices and their elaborate exchanges describe their relationship with Kalidas. These dialogues are useful, but they end up bombarding the viewers with background information that may or may not be pertinent to the main narrative. There are several opportune coincidences that give the necessary momentum for Kalidas's investigation.

Everyone he talks to promptly obeys his directions and accomplishes whatever Kalidas requires of them. All of these people appear to either give him all of the information he requires, no matter how confidential or to perform precisely what he wants them to do, no matter the repercussions.

Though Kalidas would start explaining ideas or philosophies at random, his eccentric demeanour and Mohanlal's entertaining acting alone keep the interest of the audience for the majority of the film due to the slow pace of its storyline. The other characters were merely placed in practical positions to assist Kalidas with something or to inspire him to delve deeper into the mystery.

The film does lag at times when the events divert away from the core of the plot. Attempts to create an eerie or unsettling atmosphere did not add anything substantial to the storyline. Though the whole movie is set inside a flat, the view of the sky and time-lapses of the city come are welcome changes in visual settings.

The background soundtrack created by 4 Music was used to develop tension while occasionally interfering with the actions on screen. Director Shaji Kailas has creatively employed unstable camera shots to vividly communicate the protagonist's emotions of uncertainty or panic.

The transitions from one scene to the next were creative and seamless. Even though Rajesh Jayaraman's script struggled to keep the audience hooked, it was an admirable effort. Voice actors such as Prithviraj, Manju Warrier, Zeenath, Renji Panicker, and others deliver excellent performances and even manage to connect with the audience.

Film: Alone

Director: Shaji Kailas

Onscreen Cast: Mohanlal

Voice cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Renji Panicker, and others

Rating: 3/5 

📣 The Week is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TheWeekmagazine) and stay updated with the latest headlines

What is 'going barefoot' challenge? Experts warn against viral trend

OPINION: Gender biases diminish advantages businesses could gain from a diverse workforce

Anurag Kashyap to star in Aashiq Abu's 'Rifle Club'

Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar pen thoughtful birthday wishes for Shweta Bachchan

Editor's pick.

How Vicky Kaushal became one of the best actors of his generation

J. Robert Oppenheimer through the eyes of his biographer Kai Bird

Meet the doctors who have turned their passions into alternative professions

Equity surge

*Articles appearing as INFOCUS/THE WEEK FOCUS are marketing initiatives

Alone (2023) Review: Terrified This Thriller featuring Mohanlal Even Got Made in the First Place

Alone (2023) Review: The pandemic was a life-altering event in the socio-political and economic landscape of the country. Obviously, it has seeped into pop culture as one of the most potent backdrops for any contemporary story to play out against. How many times since 2020 have we seen a movie’s plot center around the pandemic? I am not complaining, but I also cannot deny that it is starting to become a little monotonous now, especially if these movies don’t have anything new to offer. The Malayalam thriller (?), Alone (2023), directed by Shaji Kailas, is a perfect example of the same.

It is 2020, and the opening credits help us reel back to the days when death and suffering had shadowed the whole nation. News reports boom in the background as the camera follows one colorful vehicle traveling along empty roads and highways to reach its destination, Strawberry Heights in Kochi. Kalidasan (played by Mohanlal) steps out of the car in style, introduced to the audience as a mask-wearing hero in vibrant clothes and a shower of sanitizer spray.

He drove from Coimbatore to Kochi in less than 4 hours and has come to live alone in a rented apartment on the 13th floor. The apartment is fully furnished and reeks of a gorgeous place for living in peace and safety while millions across the country suffer. However, from the first night at this place, strange things start happening – his burger is thrown inside a waste bin, and he sees a book flip itself under his bed. Kalidasan thinks that he may have caught Covid and is hallucinating, but is told off both by Yasodha and his doctor. Is Kalidasan delusional, or are there supernatural entities present around him in this apartment? Kailas’ film is not only bizarre but extremely boring with every ticking second. If you make it to the climax, I won’t be astonished if you just eye-roll yourself to death at it.

The camera somersaults around Mohanlal, giving him more attention than he deserves. In the process, it fails to capture the realistic elements of the apartment and its surroundings. Accompanied by weird camera angles, the background score is so loud you’d like to turn the volume down right from the start of the movie.  Both these elements desperately try to frame the horror for us because the script just isn’t doing it. The dialogue writing, too, is far from being promising. The jokes don’t land; it doesn’t help that Mohanlal is the one delivering these jokes on most occasions. For example, in one scene where he listens to the sound of cracking bones, he only comes up with a reply as bland as “good job.”

Mohanlal is alone in this film (the joke in the preceding line is just as bad as the movie-watching experience). Because he is the only one we get to look at on the screen, he presents himself in many avatars, from a sneaker and t-shirt-wearing hero whose silver-grey suitcase rolls by itself to a white kurta-pajama wearing man who is focused on practicing yoga to keep himself mindful and calm. He performs like he always does, with an amusing screen presence to keep you entertained, but it isn’t enough.

The last time someone had to spend time alone in an apartment accidentally was Rajkumar Rao as Shaurya in Trapped (2016), a Bollywood film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane. It has to be one of the best performances in recent Indian cinema that reek of horror and fear. Sharing a similar vibe in spirit, Mohanlal fumbles to deliver anything close to the best.

In one scene, when Kalidasan is sharing some payasam with his neighbor, the film sweeps into slow motion. Why? I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. In fact, I am mildly terrified that someone even thought of this plot as being good enough to make a movie on. If you are willing to let sacrifice around 2 hours of your time watching Mohanlal try to sell a sub-par film to his loving audience, Alone (2023) is currently streaming on Disney+Hostar.

Related to Alone (2023): Drishyam 2 (2022) Review – A Sequel of Mixed Experientiality Justified by its Necessity

Alone (2023) links: imdb , wikipedia alone (2023) cast: mohanlal, annie, baiju, where to watch alone, trending right now.

Moody. Film Reader. Caramel popcorn hoarder. We can talk if you promise to not judge my film choices.

Similar Posts

Goldfish (2023) Movie Review: Deepti Naval and Kalki Koechlin cannot save this empty drama about a damaged mother-daughter relationship

Kingsman: The Golden Circle [2017] – A Superfluous Exercise in Excess

Aakashavaani (2021) SonyLiv Review: Highly Relatable and Unique Folk Story

Caitlin Cronenberg’s Debut ‘Humane’ Secures Theatrical Release with IFC Films and Shudder

Fargo (Season 5) Episode 9 Preview: Release Date, Time & Where to Watch

How ’28 Days Later’ Revitalized The Zombie Film

Alone Review: Mohanlal starrer movie is a passable experience

The Malayalam movie lovers were excited to witness this movie in theatres. Alone cast has Mohanlal and others only as voice etc. It has been released in more than 1000+ screens worldwide.

Positive Points

• Biggest highlight is the performance of Mohanlal.
• Closely knitted screenplay and storyline which seems near to reality.
• Frames of Abinandhan Ramanujam has given a different viewing experience.
• Voice roles of various celebrities keeps the energy of the film to some extent.

Negative Points

• Slow scenes make the viewing experience to fade off.

Final Rating

The film is an attempt to connect the lives of people travelling during the pandemic. indiantalents.in Alone movie rating is 2.5 / 5 .

• Manju Warrier (Voice only)
• Prithviraj Sukumaran (Voice only)
• Siddique (Voice only)
• Mallika Sukumaran (Voice only)
• Zeenath (Voice only)
• Renji Panicker (Voice only)
• Nandhu (Voice only)

Director: Shaji Kailas

Release Date: 26 January 2023

Language: Malayalam

Related posts

Fighter release date, cast, quick overview, trailer, and much more .

World4ufree Download Latest Movies for Free | Download 300MB Movies from World4uFree

9Xflix Movies Download | 9Xfilx Movie Download 300 Mb, 480p 720p 1080p

Isaimini tamil dubbed movies download for free 2023, sign up for our newsletter and stay informed, leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Something Fresh

Yuvarathnaa movie (2021) cast, roles, crew, release date, story, trailer, posters, hasmukh web series (2020) netflix: cast, all episodes online, watch online, release date, saani kaayidham movie (2022) prime video: cast, roles, crew, release date, story, posters, what people reading, free photo editing apps to make your photos instagram-worthy, what's new in the industry of slot games providers, the role of ai in visual testing automation with playwright, the future of testing: how visual testing with playwright is revolutionizing qa, how to automate android apps using appium, just add here your partners image or promo text, popular from news, aditi mistry wiki, age, family, height, bio, boyfriend, images, muhammed akief, divya mistry wiki, age, family, height, bio, boyfriend, images, athulya ranjit, tarini kalingarayar wiki, age, bio, family, height, birthday, boyfriend, pageants, images.

indiantalents is your go-to hub for all things global. Offering comprehensive coverage of international news, we deliver up-to-the-minute reports from all corners of the globe, At AllWorldDay.com, we connect you to the world, one story at a time.

Useful Links

• Firstpost Defence Summit
• Entertainment
• Web Stories
• Health Supplement
• First Sports
• Fast and Factual
• Between The Lines
• Firstpost America

Alone movie review: Is Mohanlal in a race to give us the worst Mohanlal film yet?

It is heart-breaking to see an artiste who has made us laugh and cry and given us food for thought for years, wasting himself. Alone is zero-impact, zero-purpose fare.

Cast: Mohanlal

Director: Shaji Kailas

Language: Malayalam

Imagine being stuck alone in a haunted house during the severest, most restrictive lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. Imagine feeling driven to help the spectres in that house wrap up the unfinished business that caused them to linger on Earth.

What you don’t have to imagine is writer Rajesh Jayaraman and director Shaji Kailas arriving at this promising concept for a solo act, bagging one of Indian cinema’s biggest names for their film, and then making a mess of it – you don’t have to imagine this happening since you can witness the unravelling for real if you choose to watch Alone that is currently in theatres.

Set in Kochi, Alone stars Mohanlal as Kalidasan who moves into a flat in a posh residential complex just when the Coronavirus first confined us to our homes. Kalidasan starts hearing conversations floating around within those four walls right away, writing surfaces on a mirror, and he decides to investigate the strange goings-on. In this quest, he has the help of various characters who – in addition to a friend, a therapist and a neighbour – don’t physically appear on screen but are only heard on the phone or on the other side of a shut door.

The illustrious voice cast includes Manju Warrier and Prithviraj Sukumaran.

A single-actor film set entirely in a single space places a huge burden on its central artiste. From the best of Mohanlal’s work in his over-four-decades-long career including, most recently, the Drishyam franchise, we know that if anyone has what it takes to deliver the goods in such a project, it is he. The chasm between capability and delivery has rarely been as wide – or as embarrassingly poor – as it is here.

Irrespective of the potential of the basic plotline, Alone is off-key from the moment it opens on Mohanlal’s mannered acting as he enters the condominium. The intention is, in all probability, to convey his character’s eccentricities, but the performance is way off the mark, coming across instead as fussy, cutesy over-acting no different from Lalettan’s work in that disgrace titled Monster (2022) and other mindless entertainers over the years.

Considering the premise and theme, Alone is a surprisingly crowded film. When the spirits in Kalidasan’s home are not speaking, his friend/girlfriend/lover is calling to check on him. When she disconnects, he is consulting one of his allies on the phone, making inquiries with the management of the condo, fraternising with his elderly neighbour through closed doors, or pulling odd faces. All through this and even when none of these are in play, the sound designer, music team and cinematographer are unrelenting. It’s not that the overall soundscape and background score are loud, but that they are never given a rest. And the camerawork is needlessly all over the place. Alone is bereft of silences and stillness.

If the team of this film wanted tips on how to handle a solo-actor venture, they need not have gone far. The Malayalam film industry itself gave us the compact, tightly edited, thoughtfully directed, well-acted Sunny starring Jayasurya in late 2021. Sunny was also set in the pandemic and was about a man alone in his apartment during the quarantine enforced on travellers just arrived in Kerala back then. The eponymous protagonist was dealing with various crises in his life, he was an alcoholic and he was suicidal. Director Ranjith Shankar was unafraid to leave Sunny alone with his thoughts. Alone is too busy trying to look busy and impressive.

The only point worth noting here is that Alone is different from Shaji’s last two films: the noisy, bombastic Kaduva and the stereotypical gangster saga Kaapa , both released in 2022. Different is not good though. Alone cannot be accused of being formulaic like the other two, it’s just empty, and its imagination took a vacation after the single-line description was written.

In recent years, Malayalam cinema has taken a lead in spreading awareness about mental health and normalising therapy in a way that no other Indian film industry has. Directors and writers have been persistent in this regard, with the likes of Kumbalangi Nights , #Home and Sunny foregrounding psychiatry in their storylines. This is important in a country where depression and other psychological disorders are stigmatised even today. Alone messes up even on this front with a random, thoughtless insertion of a serious psychological condition into the plot.

The two Big M-s have been pillars of the Malayalam film industry for decades. One of the happiest developments for long-time followers in the past two years has been Mammootty’s decision to go off the beaten track with the likes of Puzhu , Rorschach and Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam even as his overtly mass-targeted Bheeshma Parvam steered clear of the extreme misogyny and clichés that abounded in too many of his earlier films. Mohanlal, on the other hand, is floundering in the face of the new Malayalam New Wave . Last October’s Monster directed by Vysakh – featuring the star’s cringe-worthy acting as a Sikh, horrendous homophobia and its treatment of lecherousness as comedy – felt like an all-time low, but Alone gives it stiff competition for a top rank on the list of worst ever Mohanlal starrers. It is heart-breaking to see an artiste who has made us laugh and cry and given us food for thought over the years, wasting himself in this fashion.

Alone is zero-impact, zero-purpose fare. The point of its existence is a far bigger mystery than the occurrences in the flat where the story unfolds.

Rating: 0 (out of 5 stars)  

This review was first published in January 2023 when Alone was in theatres. The film is now streaming on Disney+Hotstar.  

Anna M.M. Vetticad is an award-winning journalist and author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic. She specialises in the intersection of cinema with feminist and other socio-political concerns. Twitter: @annavetticad, Instagram: @annammvetticad, Facebook: AnnaMMVetticadOfficial

Read all the   Latest News ,   Trending News ,   Cricket News ,   Bollywood News ,   India News   and   Entertainment News   here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and Instagram

Find us on YouTube

Related Stories

Yodha: How Karan Johar and Sidharth Malhotra created history by unveiling the trailer mid-air at 37,000 feet

Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran & Tabu starrer Drishyam franchise goes global, set for Hollywood remake

Here's looking at how Anant Ambani lost 108 kilos in mere 18 months ahead of his wedding with Radhika Merchant

Actress-politician Jaya Prada declared ‘absconding’ by court, arrest warrant issued for this reason

• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Alone Malayalam Movie

Shaji Kailas' Alone features Mohanlal as Kalidas, a man who comes to a mysterious Cochin apartment during peak COVID. Kalidas wears a mask to protect himself from COVID-19 and gives a lecture every ten minutes about following safety standards. Mohanlal is the only actor visible in the whole movie, but there are other stars doing voice-overs.

In fact, it is more interesting to try and recognise the owner of each of the voices in the movie than to make sense of the plot. Kalidas lives in a mysterious house that may or may not be haunted. He pieces multiple details together to unravel the mystery behind the voices he hears and the presence he feels in the apartment.

This is a heavily talkie film, which means there are many conversations between the characters. The conversations in the movie often shift from a serious thriller to a more easy-going drama. A piece of conversation about mental health during COVID paves the way to one about cooking vegetable fries. A lot of the conversations are so pointless that they are there just to take the movie to a point that satisfies a standard runtime for Malayalam cinema.

Most of the characters in the film are so weird. There is a Manju Warrier character with a weird sense of understanding about gender equality. She thinks that her lover giving her the freedom to call him "da" is the perfect example of gender equality. Just to underline this, Mohanlal's Kalidas describes himself as a man who believes in so-called equal rights. The conversations between Manju Warrier and Mohanlal hardly build up to anything substantial.

There are many other voice-over appearances, and the only one with some semblance of substance is that of Prithviraj Sukumaran, who seems to be playing a gangster character from another movie's set. The writing is so lazy that you cannot even give it the benefit of doubt that a typical COVID-era movie perhaps deserves. I understand that it is challenging to make an engaging film that happens mostly indoors, but Mahesh Narayanan's "C U Soon" and Ranjith Sankar's "Sunny" are better examples of COVID-era cinema.

The element of mystery in the plot is so implausible, and the twist is so predictable. What does not help are the annoying camera angles that the filmmaker employs here. What makes it worse is the obvious use of CGI for the sky views from the balcony of the apartment. Fancy shots and CGI cannot make up for lousy writing.

Speaking of writing, Mohanlal's character is so poorly written that even the great actor cannot do much to save it. Even if you consider that a Mohanlal performance is sometimes an act of self-parody these days, you cannot overlook the lousy writing he gets. At one point, he makes a dessert called Semiya Payasam in a few seconds. At another point, he gives Wikipedia-level details about the Butterfly Effect, something that is unrelated to the plot of the film. He even uses the sanitizer like an insecticide spray. Besides, don't get me started on the plot.

• India Today
• Business Today
• Reader’s Digest
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Cosmopolitan
• Aaj Tak Campus
• India Today Hindi

Alone Movie Review: Mohanlal’s one-actor film is a tedious watch

Director shaji kailas’ alone, starring mammootty, is a one-actor film that tries to be a thriller with a twist. but, it neither offers thrills nor the so-called twists have an impact on you, writes our review..

Listen to Story

• Mohanlal's Alone is directed by Shaji Kailas.
• The film graced the screens on January 26.
• Alone is a one-actor film.

Release Date: 26 Jan, 2023

Imagine a film with just Mohanlal in it. Known as the Complete Actor, the Malayalam superstar has redefined himself over the years. It’s an interesting prospect to have just Mohanlal in a film. The supporting actors appear only as voices. In fact, Alone reminds you of Parthiepan’s Othatha Seruppu, a film with just one actor. Oththa Seruppu received critical acclaim. But, will Alone turn out to be successful?

Kalidas (Mohanlal) is a motivational speaker, who moves into a new apartment in Kochi. Since he moved into the apartment during the Covid-19 lockdown, everything is dealt with in calls. Soon after settling into the house, he hears the voices of two people – a mother and her daughter (Sreedevi and Anu). Das has a strong feeling that there is a reason why the spirits are in the house. He soon digs up to know why he is hearing the voices.

Director Shaji Kailas’s Alone aims to be a thriller with horror elements. However, the film hardly has anything going to keep you engrossed. The film feels excruciatingly long as there are not enough elements in the screenplay. Once you start hearing the voices, you automatically know that these are spirits. By now, one can guess that the two people would have been wronged. Half the time, we see Mohanlal’s Das stating the obvious. After a point, you just stare at the screen wondering when this ordeal would come to an end.

Apart from the wafer-thin storyline, it is the bizarre camera angles that almost give you a headache. You get a crazy close-up of Mohanlal’s eye and a random shot of a pen's nib flying off. You see artificial skies and many unnecessary close-up and slo-mo shots with jarring music.

It is in the pre-climax of Alone there are some twists in the story. However, when the big reveal happens, you end up scratching your head rather than being surprised. Mohanlal tried his best to salvage this drowning story, but there was only so much he could do to uplift it. In the film, he’s drowning in alcohol, mouthing pop philosophies and romancing Yamuna (Manju Warrier). His camaraderie with Hari Bhai (Prithviraj), a retired goon, is an interesting bond that could have been explored better.

However, Alone ends up as an uninteresting affair with almost no meat.

Thanks For Rating

Reminder successfully set, select a city.

• Nashik Times
• Aurangabad Times
• Badlapur Times

You can change your city from here. We serve personalized stories based on the selected city

• Edit Profile
• Briefs Movies TV Web Series Lifestyle Trending Medithon Visual Stories Music Events Videos Theatre Photos Gaming

'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' box office collection Day 4: Monsterverse movie maintains good hold on Monday; inches closer to Rs 50 crore mark

Sushant Singh Rajput case: HC grants Sameer Wankhede relief till April 10 in NCB's probe on irregularities in drugs case

Is Deepika Padukone planning to grace Met Gala 2024 after being tagged as 'insecure' of Alia Bhatt's debut last year? Here's what we know...

Shah Rukh Khan's 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', Ranveer Singh's 'Bajirao Mastani', Shahid Kapoor's 'Padmaavat': 5 movies rejected by Ajay Devgn

Exclusive! Navya Nanda on the possibility of featuring Amitabh, Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan on her podcast: I would want to take it out of the family - WATCH video

'Crew' box office collection day 4: The Kareena Kapoor, Tabu and Kriti Sanon starrer collected Rs 4.50 crore on its first Monday

Movie Reviews

Ooru Peru Bhairavakona

Kuch Khattaa Ho Jaay

Aakhir Palaayan Kab Tak...

The Holdovers

Singapore Saloon

Indian Police Force Sea...

• Movie Listings

Most attractive clicks of Mahima Nambiar

Sai Pallavi's saree elegance reimagined

Aditi Rao Hydari’s aesthetic camera roll

Most stylish clicks of Komal Thacker

Monalisa's jaw-dropping pics in black

Alia Bhatt exudes regal vibes in a maroon velvet gown

Samyuktha Hegde's March timeline through mirror!

Spring Stylebook ft. Neeru Bajwa

Akshay Kumar to Priyanka Chopra - Bollywood's biggest pranksters

Tamannaah Bhatia sets internet ablaze in green pre-draped saree

30 Hours Survival: Gau...

Welcome Wedding

Bengal 1947

3rd October

What A Kismat

Madgaon Express

Swatantrya Veer Savark...

Mr. & Mrs. Mahi

Knox Goes Away

Godzilla x Kong: The N...

Kung Fu Panda 4

Arthur The King

The Color Purple

All Of Us Strangers

May December

Dune: Part Two

A Game Of Two Halves

Boomer Uncle

Veppam Kulir Mazhai

Idi Minnal Kadhal

Netru Indha Neram

Aansplaining

Amigo Garage

Tillu Square

Kaliyugam Pattanamlo

Agricos: Anaganaga Oka...

Om Bheem Bush

Ghannu Bhai

Razakar: The Silent Ge...

Sharathulu Varthisthai...

Thooth Kaasu

Somu Sound Engineer

Chow Chow Bath

Karataka Damanaka

The Red Files

Chotto Piklu

Bonbibi: Widows Of The...

Daroga Mamur Kirti

Fer Mamlaa Gadbad Hai

Pyar Naalo Yaar Chaang...

Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri...

Rabb Da Radio 3

Ni Main Sass Kuttni 2

Boo Main Dargi

Vekhi Ja Chhedi Na

Alibaba Aani Chalishit...

Shishyavrutti

Bhagirathi Missing

Lockdown Lagna

Hee Anokhi Gaath

Lagna Kallol

Mahadev Ka Gorakhpur

Nirahua The Leader

Tu Nikla Chhupa Rustam...

Rowdy Rocky

Mental Aashiq

Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat...

Bol Radha Bol

Yaa Devi Sarvabhuteshu...

Sorry Sajna

Prem Ni Pathsala

Jhopadpatti

Vanilla Ice Cream

Lagan Special

Jajabara 2.0

Operation 12/17

Dui Dune Panch

Mo Kahanire Tori Naa

Kemiti E Sampark

Your rating, write a review (optional).

• Movie Listings /
• Malayalam /

Would you like to review this movie?

Cast & Crew

Latest Reviews

Inspector Rishi

The Baxters

3 Body Problem

Alone - Official Trailer

Alone - Official Teaser

Alone - Motion Poster

Users' Reviews

Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

• What is the release date of 'Alone'? Release date of Mohanlal and Kriti Kharbanda starrer 'Alone' is 2023-01-26.
• Who are the actors in 'Alone'? 'Alone' star cast includes Mohanlal, Kriti Kharbanda, Prithviraj Sukumaran and Renji Panicker.
• Who is the director of 'Alone'? 'Alone' is directed by Shaji Kailash.
• Who is the producer of 'Alone'? 'Alone' is produced by Antony Perumbavoor.
• What is Genre of 'Alone'? 'Alone' belongs to 'Mystery,Thriller' genre.
• In Which Languages is 'Alone' releasing? 'Alone' is releasing in Malayalam.

Visual Stories

​How to instantly feel better and happy​

Entertainment

Tamannaah Bhatia is a vision to behold in emerald green georgette saree and bustier blouse

Child hitting and biting? 10 tips to stop this aggressive behaviour

Imlie fame Adrija Roy’s glamorous looks

​Priya Bapat shines in graceful saree elegance​

​Times Pujitha Devaraju won hearts with her style game​

IPL 2024 Bengaluru vs Lucknow: Top attractions to explore in Bengaluru after the match

Sobhita Dhulipala's elegant yet simple cotton saree look redefines grace

News - Alone

'Many nights you cry alone, praying for some rays of ho...

Director Abhishek Kapoor revealed Sushant Singh Rajput ...

‘Manjummel Boys’ box office collection day 8: Chidambar...

Bipasha Basu gives a sneak peek into daughter Devi's ch...

‘Neru’ box office collections: Mohanlal’s film collects...

Upcoming Movies

Popular movie reviews.

The Goat Life

Manjummel Boys

Anweshippin Kandethum

Abraham Ozler

• Andhra Pradesh
• Community & Culture
• South Shots
• In The News
• Dakshin Dialogues

• Opinion & Analysis

• Health & Wellness

• Home » Movies » Alone Malayalam Movie Review

Alone review: Mohanlal saves this movie with a rather weak script

The project is a different take from director Shaji Kailas who is otherwise known for mass films; it could have been good without gimmicks.

Published:Jan 26, 2023

Alone is a single character film featuring Mohanlal. (Mohanlal/Twitter)

A one-time watch!

Alone (Malayalam)

• Cast: Mohanlal (only character seen on-screen); Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Siddique, Renji Panicker, Nandhu, Mallika Sukumaran, and Zeenath
• Director: Shaji Kailas
• Producer: Aashirvad Cinemas
• Music: 4 Musics
• Runtime: 2 hours 2 minutes
• Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Emraan Hashmi, and Revathy
• Director: Maneesh Sharma
• Producer: Aditya Chopra
• Music: Pritam Chakraborty
• Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes

Mohanlal’s Alone finally is out in the theatres. The movie, made during the Covid-19 pandemic, was meant to have an OTT premiere. But the makers decided to go for a theatrical release, though the director hinted that it may have a lag.

Alone is yet another movie with Mohanlal playing the role of Kalidas, the only character that appears on-screen in the whole film.

He is seen communicating with people over the phone. Their voices can be identified as that of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Siddique, Manju Warrier, Nadu, Suresh Krishna, etc.

Sunny ‘s successor

Before Alone, Jayasurya-starrer Sunny premiered via Amazon Prime in 2021. It also had a single title character Sunny played by Jayasurya.

Now, Alone is also set against the backdrop of the Covid-19 lockdown, on the lines of Sunny .

Alone is an experimental attempt that can be put under the horror genre. After 10 minutes, it gives the audience the impression of being a horror movie.

These assumptions are the only hook for the audience to sit inside the theatre for around two hours.

Kalidas is a motivational speaker who is travelling to Kochi from Coimbatore during the Covid-19 lockdown.

A drunkard, the hallucinations he experiences in his flat form the first half and how he overcomes the situation form the second half.

The highlights

As a motivational speaker, Kalidas spreads a message to his clients which can also be interpreted as a message to the audience.

Hallucinations and how common people must have been affected by this gets a mention in the movie. An investigation of a murder, which is a real case or an unreal one, is the highlight.

Director Shaji Kailas is a master in thrillers and Alone can also be put under this category. He once again roped in Don Max, who earlier collaborated with him for Tiger, Time, and Chinthamani Kola Case , as the editor.

There are many instances for fans to cheer even though the movie has a single actor, thanks to the editor.

The director is on a successful spree after Kaduva and Kaapa, both starring Prithviraj in lead roles, became hits.

But Alone is a different take from the director who is known for mass movies. He joined hands with Mohanlal after Red Chillies (2008). Mohanlal has a similar look in Alone as that of Red Chillies .

#Alone #ShajiKailas @antonypbvr @aashirvadcine pic.twitter.com/hXV7xRJxPK — Mohanlal (@Mohanlal) January 26, 2023

How Mohanlal fared

Shaji Kailas-Mohanlal films have a formula which includes action, songs, and punch-lines. However, Alone is something different considering these factors.

Mohanlal carries this movie. His looks, his charisma, and his energy make Alone watchable.

Otherwise, the script by Rajesh Jayaraman doesn’t offer anything new. The same kind of storyline has been used in various other languages.

Butterfly effect

Mohanlal in Shaji Kailas’ ‘Alone’. (Mohanlal/Twitter)

The movie speaks about the Butterfly Effect, but it doesn’t have much impact on the project.

In the film, Kalidas is seen investigating the murder of two people through his contacts. The movie works in parts since Mohanlal is a superstar.

The script is weak though. But it does justice to the facts and proves that the story is happening during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The background music composed by 4 Musics gives some pace to the movie. It’s a decent, not excellent though.

The cinematography is done by Abhinandam Ramanujan and Pramod K Pillai.

Since most of the movie is shot inside an apartment and its surroundings, these two people didn’t have many challenges to take up.

Alone is a mix of many genres which works in parts, but could have been good without gimmicks. It is a one-time watch!

Tags:  

• Entertainment
• Malayalam cinema
• Movie review

Recommended For You

Kerala doctors at ‘Vayo Clinic’ prescribe ‘laughter three times a day’ to break barriers

Mar 31, 2024

‘Manjummel Boys’ meet Superstar Rajinikanth in Chennai

Mar 30, 2024

Malayalam watchlist: ‘Varshangalkku Shesham’ and ‘Aavesham’ frontrunners for Vishu-Eid season

Patna Shuklla review: An effective legal drama that focuses on an educational scam involving roll numbers

Mar 29, 2024

Crew review: A much-needed female buddy film in mainstream Hindi cinema

Latest news.

Amit Shah to begin Karnataka campaign from DK brothers’ home turf

Kadiyam Kavya is Congress candidate for Warangal (SC) Lok Sabha seat

Congress to release Lok Sabha poll manifesto on 5 April; mega rallies in Jaipur, Hyderabad the next day

A bone of contention between DMK and AIADMK, Katchatheevu takes centre stage ahead of LS polls

Should I remain as CM or not? Siddaramaiah’s emotional appeal to Varuna voters in Lok Sabha polls

Breaking bread with JD(S), Amit Shah to start Karnataka BJP campaign from DK Brothers’ home turf

Delhi court adjourns Kavitha bail plea to 4 April even as her counsel calls ED her persecutor

Thane hate speech: PUCL urges action against BJP’s Raja Singh

Thane hate speech: pucl urges maharashtra dgp to take action against telangana bjp mla raja singh.

KCR interacts with farmers, proves BRS game not over yet

Kannada watchlist: April set to see a line-up of thrillers

In interaction with farmers, kcr shows that game is not over yet; revives brs’ morale.

Chiranjeevi says ‘Tillu Square’ is a must-watch, invites the team home

Opposition cites 2015 RTI reply that contradicts Modi government stance on Katchatheevu

Fire breaks out in ‘wooded area’ in Bengaluru

Pinarayi blows hot and cold over opposition issues

Alone Movie Review: A daring experiment that becomes a tiring experience

Rating: ( 1.5 / 5).

The pandemic and the subsequent lockdown continue to be a source of never-ending stories that range from romance to supernatural thrillers. It has also proven to be a fertile setting for novel experiments.  Alone  is one such attempt—a single-actor film set largely in one location. It's in stark contrast to the Mohanlal-Shaji Kailas duo's usual larger-than-life mass entertainers that celebrate the superstar, his  mundu  swag, and the iconic  meesha piri . In Alone, not once does Mohanlal wear a mundu nor does he twirl his moustache, but that doesn't mean this film is short of gimmicks. In fact, it has a lot...

Cast: Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier

Director: Shaji Kailas

Rating: 1.5/5

The narrative begins with Mohanlal's character Kalidasan reaching an apartment complex in Kochi during the lockdown. After encountering some strange incidents in his flat, he starts unraveling a lot of mysteries. But all of this is before the final twist, which has become a routine in most Mohanlal films of late. However, his uninspired performance worsens things. There is a shade of eccentricity to his character, and it should have been a cakewalk for someone who aced similar roles in films like  Ayal Kadha Ezhuthukayanu  (1998) and  Thala vattom  (1986), but all we get to see is a pale shadow of his old self. At times, his mannerisms reminded me of the dismal  Alexander the Great  (2010), which arguably had one of his weakest performances to date.

Alone  also has voice-acting by popular actors like Prithviraj Sukumaran, Manju Warrier, Annie, Rachana Narayanankutty, and Nandu among others. Among them, Prithviraj's Hari Bhai is the best-written character and it is enhanced by the actor's delightful rendering of the  Thironthoram  slang, which sounds way better than what he did recently in  Kaapa . In an ordinary film without any such experiments, the Kalidasan-Hari Bhai portions would have been thoroughly enjoyable.

Alone  is somewhat similar to Jayasurya's 2021 film  Sunny  in terms of how they both are single-actor films set during the pandemic. However, what distinguishes  Sunny  from  Alone  is the former's superior technical quality. The Shaji Kailas directorial is ruined with tacky visuals and shoddy VFX, which is probably because the film was originally planned as a direct OTT release. The strange camera angles and sound design that are intended to invoke jump scares and a sense of spookiness hardly create any impact. Rajesh Jayaraman's script has a supernatural angle to it, but it seems like the makers tried too hard to make it look like one. Right from the intro sequence Shaji Kailas has employed all his trademark gimmicks—the zigzag camera movements, flashy cuts, and the unnecessarily deafening background score—resulting in a headache-inducing experience.

In a couple of scenes in  Alone , Mohanlal is seen wearing a T-shirt that screams the word 'vintage'. But sadly, this film doesn't even have a glimpse of the good old vintage Mohanlal or Shaji Kailas. To put it bluntly, it's an experiment gone terribly wrong.

Related Stories

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Now streaming on:

The first 30 minutes or so of John Hyams ’ “Alone” are promising. Jessica ( Jules Willcox ) packs up her U-Haul trailer and moves out of Portland, Oregon for parts unknown. Whatever parts they are, they’re deep in the wilderness. Jessica is running from Something Traumatic, as befitting all protagonists in this kind of movie. Her father is concerned that she’s left a day earlier than expected so that she could avoid any kind of verbal skirmish with her mother. Her mother calls her repeatedly, and when Jessica finally answers, Mom’s whiny nagging explains why a confrontation was unwanted. No matter. We never find out where Jessica was going, because her plans get derailed.

You see, there’s a serial killer on the loose. He’s a goofy looking man with glasses and a push broom for a mustache. He reminded me of an older version of the Simpsons’ Ned Flanders, one who has done a lot of things that require repentance. You would think the filmmakers went for this rather Everyman look to distract victims from his villainy, but the guy known as Man in the credits ( Marc Menchaca ) never once acts anything other than creepy. In his first in-person interaction with Jessica, he asks where she’s going, tries to engage her in conversations unbecoming of strangers and then points out that he was driving the Jeep Grand Cherokee that almost got her killed when she tried to pass him a few miles back. I hope Jeep got paid well for this particular product placement. I hope U-Haul did too, because when Jessica’s trailer gets a flat, Man shows up to beat her senseless, drug, and kidnap her. Jessica wakes up in an empty basement room conveniently fitted with a lovely beam of sunlight streaming through the barred up windows.

So far so good for a thriller. There’s even a halfway decent moment of suspense where Man torments Jessica about the devastating event that sent her packing. When Jessica pleads for her life, Man asks “do you think you’re the first person who’s done this?” It’s the last time Man will seem scary, which is a shame because the movie’s barely one-third over. We’re spared any torture or sexual assault, thank goodness, and Jessica easily escapes from Man. This occurs after Jessica overhears Man talking to Wife and Daughter on his cell phone. Screenwriter Mattias Olsson really wants to lean into the idea that Man is living a secret life, but honestly, why should I be impressed by this? “Dark, murderous secrets kept from families” is covered in Serial Killer 101 on the first day of class.

Any genre goodwill generated by Hyams’ assured direction and pacing is lost when the film introduces another character, Robert ( Anthony Heald ). Robert is stupid, as all characters like him are in this type of picture. Before he shows up, Jessica suffers a gruesome foot injury while running from Man, so I expected “Alone” to become a battle of wills between the two out in the big, bad wilderness. Eventually, it does, which makes Robert not only completely extraneous, but also living proof that a good guy with a gun doesn’t stop anything.

The dialogue Man is given to speak is atrocious. When the film catches him monologuing while trying to flush Jessica out of the darkness, his attempts at psychological torture sound amateurish and paltry. It’s to Wilcox’s credit that she so ably plays mental distress that she almost saves the scene. But when Man says, in the dullest voice possible, that “I’m gonna get you, you delicious f--king b---h!” my suspension of belief dissolved completely. And that’s before we get to the deus ex machina helicopter and the climactic phone call which, believe it or not, isn’t to the police.

“Alone” gives us little reason to care if our hero makes it out alive, but I have to give credit where it’s due: Jessica isn’t written as some damsel in distress. Though she does make a questionable choice or two, she’s more crafty and engaged than a standard victim. There’s a scene where she temporarily gets the upper hand with a tire iron, and when she crawls away, she has the good sense to take that tire iron with her. I laughed, because I didn’t think she would do that. It showed a true survival instinct. There’s also a scene where a potential savior, when faced with believing Jessica or Man, sides with the killer simply because Man convinces him Jessica is hysterical. I might be completely wrong in my reading of the scene as a statement on the patriarchy, but I appreciated the sting of the moment nonetheless. It gave me something to think about as the movie limped to its conclusion.

Odie Henderson

Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire  here .

Now playing

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Robert daniels.

Dune: Part Two

Brian tallerico.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Matt zoller seitz.

The Truth vs. Alex Jones

Problemista

Monica castillo.

Golden Years

Clint worthington, film credits.

Alone (2020)

Jules Willcox as Jessica

Anthony Heald as Robert

Jonathan Rosenthal as Eric

Marc Menchaca as Man

• Mattias Olsson

Cinematographer

• Federico Verardi
• Nima Fakhrara

Latest blog posts

Steve Martin Is an Auteur Without Having Directed a Thing

The Unloved, Part 124: Play Dirty

Beyoncé and My Daughter Love Country Music

A Poet of an Actor: Louis Gossett, Jr. (1936-2024)

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Entertainment

Tori Spelling Breaks Silence About Divorce from Dean McDermott: 'I've Never Felt More Alone'

The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star filed for divorce from McDermott on March 29, just two days before her new podcast 'misSPELLING' made its debut

Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. He has been working at the brand since 2016, and is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It.

Tori Spelling is speaking out about her divorce from Dean McDermott , in her own words.

The Beverly Hills, 90210  actress broke her silence on Monday about the dissolution of her marriage , in the debut installment of her podcast, misSPELLING .

"I've never felt more alone," Spelling, 50, said. "I don’t feel worth loving. That’s the truth. And that’s something that’s just in you, it’s not something I wanted or created. That starts when you’re young. [And changing it], that's not easy to do. ... I don't know if you can."

It was an emotional episode recorded moments after Spelling filed on Friday, March 29. in fact, the episode started with the mother of five calling McDermott, 57, and leaving him a voice message to let him know what she had done.

"There’s this weird thing that I didn’t know about before that you have to be careful with your ex. It’s a he-said, she-said, who filed first. I had to file and go through the process and then once it was accepted and publicly posted, then I’m allowed to call and fill in my ex. So I just called Dean," Spelling explained. "He’s working and I have to tell him and I’m super nervous because I don’t like confrontation."

Spelling went on to say that she'd been telling herself  she wanted to file for divorce for "like... 15 years."

She held back because she wanted to "protect" McDermott from hurt, and protect their kids.

"We always say, ‘Hey, it made it 18 years. It shouldn’t have made it 18 years," Spelling said. "And I think he would say the same thing if he and I had a real heart-to-heart. It would have been over a lot sooner."

Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic; Andrew J Cunningham/Getty Images

So what went wrong in their marriage? According to Spelling, the "honeymoon period" ended four months after the two got together — a romance that famously began when they cheated on their spouses (Charlie Shanian and Mary Jo Eustace respectively) after meeting in 2005 on the set of the TV movie, Mind Over Murder.

"We had this very, quick, passionate falling in love period," Spelling recalled, calling it "fast and furious romance" and praising McDermott for appreciating the side to her she rarely showed anyone. "I just remember I could show him me . It wasn’t like, the cute like, giggly, ‘this is what people want me to be.’ I was able to be like, loud... I could have a foul mouth. I’m not just Donna Martin, the perfect good girl. I could have some bad girl in me and it was okay. And he liked all those sides and he saw how smart I was and accepted me."

Amy Sussman/Getty

But Spelling says that there were "red flags" she saw that she didn't address early on. "Everyone talks about red flags. I like saying that I just like to make dresses out of red flags and then proceed," she joked.

Those red flags, Spelling says, include "anger issues" she claims McDermott had as their lives in the public eye grew.

"I said from the beginning, ‘It’s going to be a lot. I’ve been told it’s an emasculating road.’ And he was like, ‘I can handle it,' " Spelling shared. "I don’t think he knew how big it would be. How big the life I was given and live is. I think he was like, ‘Oh yeah, things come and go.’ But with me, it never went. From the moment I was born, I was in the press. There hasn't been a reprieve from it. So you kind of have to be used to jumping on board with that world and getting through it and owning it. And I thought he was on board with that."

Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Things changed, Spelling says, when they had kids. (The two are parents to  Liam Aaron McDermott , 17,  Stella Doreen , 15,  Hattie Margaret , 12,  Finn Davey , 11 and  Beau Dean , 7).

"Honestly, our relationship was never the same after we started having kids," said Spelling. "We always said, ‘We won’t be those parents that change. We’ll make sure we make our relationship a priority, the two of us. We have date nights.’ And everything went out the window. I became completely focused on the kids and kind of left him, in a way."

"Our relationship definitely changed where I really felt like I was in this alone with the kids,' Spelling added. "And he was there, but he was an extra set of hands. He put the car seat in because I didn’t know how to do it and things like that. Emotionally, I was it. Like, ‘Tag, you’re it.’ I was the parent. And it was a lot of responsibility while also rebuilding a career — which I did. We became a family brand. I went from Hollywood rich girl... to like, cool mom. 'Look at her. She does it all.' Meanwhile, behind the scenes, it was all falling apart."

Spelling wasn't prepared to let anyone know things were falling apart.

She explained on her podcast that she "created the character of Dean" after growing up the daughter of famous television producer, wanting to script her romance like a fairy tale and make McDermott into "all those Prince Charmings I wanted when I was young."

"He had a lot of those qualities. But… you know… We did our reality show and the first one was like, ‘Fun, fun.’ So any bad stuff that would happen or fights or anything, they would edit," she shared. "Women everywhere, I would hear, ‘I wish I had a Dean.’ And I was like, ‘If you only knew…’ "

The pair went to therapy over the years to try to work on their issues according to Spelling it didn't help at all "because we were talking about two different things" — with McDermott often focusing on Spelling's sloppiness around the house, and how she often didn't clean up after their pets.

"I’m really good at taking blame so that someone can start to feel like they can open up. So yeah, I would say, ‘I do this, and I do that.’ Hoping he would be like, ‘Yeah, and I do this.’ But instead it was more focused on, ‘The dog s-- all over the house. She has too many animals. She’s a hoarder. She’s messy.’ And I’m like, ‘Yup, yup, yup. That’s me,' " said Spelling.

As for those aforementioned "anger issues," Spelling alleged on her podcast that McDermott had a "temper' which was "often fueled by alcohol."

"When he would drink, it was hard because I knew that at some point, it would turn," Spelling claimed. "And I knew... you know, it was always different. It could be 2 drinks, it could be 5, 6 drinks. And then I would just see it turn and I’m like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ And then that became my dance on the eggshells. No matter what I said it wasn’t right and I would have to, in my head be like, ‘Okay, quick quick quick on your toes.’ "

'It was like a fight. A mental fight," she said. " ‘I think he might aim here and if he aims here with what he says, I’m going to respond this way and it’ll take him down.’ And it got to the point where nothing would make sense and I would just know to stop talking. And that usually, just space and stop talking, it was hard. "

McDermott, who says he is sober now, has acknowledged that his drinking played a part in their troubles. In an interview with the  Daily Mail  in November 2023, he revealed that the couple hadn't been sleeping in the same bed anymore, and their marriage was characterized by “anger and…yelling.”

“It ended up with me drinking a fifth of tequila every night, seven days a week, and a handful of narcos [narcotics] by myself with, you know, a beautiful family in the other room,” he said. “That's what it led to and that's what led to the brokenness. I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t live that life anymore.”

Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic, Raymond Hall/GC Images

Drinking was involved, Spelling claimed on her podcast, the night they finally decided to separate. That was June 17, 2023 — the date Spelling listed in her filing as their date of separation, and the same day McDermott  announced  that the couple had decided to split in a statement that was later deleted off his Instagram.

“It’s with great sadness and a very very heavy heart that after 18 years together and 5 amazing children, that @torispelling and I have decided to go our separate ways, and start a new journey of our own,” he wrote at the time.

Asked about what happened that night, Spelling said the two had been at a photoshoot earlier in the day with her 90210 costar Jennie Garth.

"Jen and Dean haven’t always gotten along and I just remember that day she was like, ‘He was really great,' " recalled Spelling. "He helped and styled and carried and did everything for us that day, because we didn’t have the budget to hire people. We had to do the whole photoshoot ourselves, and video shoot — just me and Jen. And he was great. And when I got home, she texted me and said, ‘Dean was really great today.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s going to mean a lot to him, for me to go in and say Jen gave you a compliment.’ "

However McDermott, Spelling said, "had been drinking at that point" and after she passed on the message from Garth, the two "started to discuss something else."

"I could tell, ‘Oh, he’s fired up and it’s not going to go well,' " Spelling said. "And in my head I’m like, ‘Stop talking, walk away, cause otherwise this is going to escalate.’ But once in a blue moon, I don’t just walk away and I don’t just shut up. I come back. And I always say, it’s the Taurus in me. Stubborn. The Taurus will make peace with everyone and super patient and will be like, ‘I’m sorry, it’s me, it’s not you.’ And then you push us, you push us, you push us, and we then just snap."

"We had started fighting and I walked away, still passive aggressively saying things, 'cause I’m passive aggressive — trying to work on that," she continued. "And he was like, ‘What’d you say? What’d you say?’ And I was like, ‘Hmmm. Uh huh, proceed — I said this!’ And yeah… so it just like, escalated and he came in screaming. And he made a remark that I don’t want to discuss. But it’s not even a terrible remark, it’s just a dig at something he knew would really be hurtful to hear."

Taylor Hill/WireImage

Spelling did not say what the comment was, but it appears she will explain more in a future episode.

On Friday, PEOPLE confirmed that Spelling, 50,  filed for divorce  from McDermott after 18 years of marriage. In her court filing, the actress cited irreconcilable differences as the reason behind their split.

She also asked for sole physical custody of their five minor children and joint legal custody with McDermott's visitation rights to be determined at a later date.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Spelling and McDermott  tied the knot  in a private ceremony in Fiji on May 7, 2006 .

Over the past few years, the couple have fielded rumors about the status of their marriage, especially after Spelling shared  a holiday card  on Instagram where McDermott was notably absent.

In recent months, the two have both moved on. McDermott is seeing new girlfriend  Lily Calo  while Spelling was  spotted kissing Ryan Cramer , the CEO of Santa Monica-based agency Neuron Syndicate Inc., in November.

Despite their new love interests, McDermott told  Page Six  in March that Spelling is  still his “biggest fan”  and continues to support him from afar on maintaining his sobriety journey. He described her as “caring,” “empathetic” and someone who “wants the best for everybody” sometimes “at the expense of her happiness.”

“You know, she just wants me to be happy. Bottom line. And she’s such an incredible woman that way,” McDermott told the outlet. “She’s one of the most generous people I’ve ever met in my life.”

Related Articles