Jiivi is a 2019 Tamil language suspense thriller film directed by V.J. Gopinath and produced by M. Vellapandiyan under Vetrivel Saravana Cinemas. The movie stars Vetri, Karunakaran, and Rohini in the lead roles. The story revolves around a struggling writer named Saravanan (Vetri). He is deeply submerged in debt and his personal life is in turmoil. Amidst all this chaos, he accedes to rent his apartment to a mystery tenant. The tenant being a quiet, middle-aged woman (Rohini). She hardly talks and keeps to herself. She mostly remains confined to her room which leads to a lot of curiosity amongst the neighbors.
In due course, Saravanan finds a mysterious manuscript which had been dropped by his tenant. The manuscript details a real-life incident of how a young boy's life was ruined by greedy people. He reads the manuscript and eventually figures that this could be his ticket to salvation; writing a script based on the story in the manuscript.
As he starts writing, his mind is bogged down by various financial discrepancies and his personal life issues. He starts losing confidence and has no motivation to write further. Meanwhile, he develops a good friendship with his neighbor Vadivel (Karunakaran). Vadivel gets intrigued by Saravanan's profession and keeps asking him about his work and other related questions.
The story then takes a turn when Saravanan starts realizing a connection between the events in the manuscript and the happenings in his own apartment complex. He starts seeing the same characters in real life that were mentioned in the manuscript. From that point on, the plot thickens, and the director takes you through a maze of events, leaving you wondering about the connection between these two parallel stories.
The cinematography in the film is stunning, capturing the essence of Saravanan's apartment during the day and the mysterious nature of the plot with its eerie undertones during the dark, foreboding nights. The screenplay by Babu Tamizh and V.J. Gopinath is laudable, as it keeps you engaged and in suspense throughout the movie.
The performance of Vetri as Saravanan is noteworthy. He brings out the author's frustrations, fear, and confusion with an understated excellence that adds credence to the film's storyline. Rohini is brilliant in her role and her subtle nuances add depth to her enigmatic character. Karunakaran gives an amazing performance as the curious neighbor, Vadivel.
Overall, Jiivi is a complete package with its clever screenplay, the casting of excellent actors, and the subtle elements of suspense and thrills that keep you guessing until the very end. With a runtime of just under 2 hours, Jiivi is a must-watch for audiences who crave gripping, unconventional storytelling.
Jiivi is a 2019 crime movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 52 minutes.
It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.7.
