Amal Neerad’s Bougainvillea features an impressive cast, including Kunchacko Boban, Jyothirmay, and Fahadh Faasil; however, the film ultimately flatters to deceive. Faasil is relegated to a tertiary role, likely either to help out his friends or for a fat paycheck – probably the former. Pitched as a psychological thriller, the film becomes exasperating due to its screenplay and overall execution.

Amal Neerad and his co-writer Lajo Jose (whose story this film is based on) know how far to push the unreliable narrator trope. Not only is their protagonist Reethu (Jyothirmayi in her return) suffering from both retrograde and anterograde amnesia, but we’re seeing the film through her perspective for the most part. What makes this film even more complex is how quickly we get the feeling that we cannot rely on the people Reethu relies on to make sense of her chilling universe.

Among all the flaws a writer can imagine for their protagonist, an unreliable memory throws up quite a few fascinating possibilities. In Bougainvillea, Reethu (Jyothirmayi) is almost always unsure of anything that happens right in front of her eyes. For a fairly good period, we are also caught in a similar dilemma — as to whether what we are seeing through her eyes is for real; whether she has painted a Sunflower or yet another Bougainvillea.

Director Amal Neerad’s latest movie Bougainvillea is a slow-burning thriller that offers more strengths than weaknesses in its entertainment value. Set against the backdrop of an unreliable memory, the film borrows elements from classics like Memento and The Usual Suspects, while crafting a uniquely Malayalam narrative.