Inspired by Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', Joji revolves around the eponymous character who happens to be a member of a very rich and influential family in rural Kerala. Joji is a delusional and stubborn young man who thinks he is wronged by everyone, from the society, to his friends, to his family. Looking for a way to succeed, his life takes a turn when his father gets paralyzed.

Despite being just over 1.5 hours long, Joji is a slow burn. There are no jump scare moments, or moments of grand revelations, yet the director, Dileesh Pothan, manages to build up enough tension to latch on to your attention and not let go till the end. I have been recommended at least two of his earlier movies (I enjoyed both of those trailers), but unfortunately, this is the first one that I found on OTT.

The great, yet simple, background score and the cinematography help as well (are there any good movies with bad cinematography in Malayalam cinema?).

Ultimately, the movie boils down to great storytelling and brilliant acting by the cast. I haven't read or seen the original Macbeth, but Shyam Pushkaran's writing has certainly piqued my interest to take a look at the original.

Fahadh Faasil does what Fahadh Faasil does best: put in a great acting masterclass. His different 'masks' (a metaphor used within the movie, referring to the COVID face masks, of course) are quite convincing, and the way he undergoes each transformation is subtle yet great to watch. Unnimaya Prasad as Bincy is brilliant as the 'enabler' for all that Joji does. The rest of the cast provide able support (I quite liked Basil Joseph's Father Kevin).

Overall, this is quite a good movie. One that I would definitely recommend.