The trailers prepared you for a vendetta saga of a father whose daughter goes missing.
Written and directed by Jinu V Abraham, this family drama takes place in Scotland and follows the Pothen family as they undergo a terrible tragedy.
Adam Joan opens with a bloodied hand reaching for a phone on the dashboard and making a call. Travelling into flashback mode, viewers enter into the lives of Shwetha (Bhavana) and Alan (Rahul Madhav), who are proudly watching their daughter sing a carol in the neighbourhood church.
In no time, their lives are overturned when their little girl is kidnapped and Alan’s mother is shot dead.
With the arrival of Adam (played by Prithviraj), Alan’s elder brother, we get to know his past life and his connection with the missing girl.
While each frame is picture postcard perfect capturing Scotland’s beautiful landscapes, Adam Joan lacks conviction and the pace is slow. Bereft of the depth of emotions to support this tragic family drama, the characters in the film somehow don’t connect with the audience.
You wonder how is it that Alan remains calm even after losing his mother and daughter on the same day. Alan and Shwetha slip back into their lives with ease.
With an element of Satan worship thrown in, the story progresses to show to what extent people can go to with their faiths.
Abraham’s story is based on a true incident according to the trailer.
As the story progresses, Adam’s larger than life action sequences are questionable and becomes more of a display of the star’s image and less about the trauma of the little girl.
There is nothing new about Prithviraj’s role here. We have seen him in similar situations in other revenge stories.
The surprise was undoubtedly Bhavana’s Shwetha. She is more human with her failings. And, it’s good to see Narain after a while. He plays Adam’s friend.
Though beautifully wrapped up in Jithu Damodaran’s visuals, Adam Joan is quite a let-down.
