He opens the film with fast cuts paired with marching music that immediately sets the tone and the setting. The plot develops not through the revelations (the cliche way) but through dialogues, action and small details wrapped around in one perfect blanket. The clever way of using music that contradicts the scene is very Sono style but nevertheless, effective in bringing out the scene.
Dark, gray tones dominate the film with lots of red. Still, tropes like the typical-weak-salary man is still played and stretched towards the end that somehow makes the film repetitive. And with a 140 minutes running time, it's too long for a crime-thriller drama of this sort. The pacing is just too long, the narrative too dragging that at times, you just want to get to the excitement (and they aren't many). Expect blood and guts but don't expect excitement. Expect weirdness and undermined representations of women but don't expect excitement.
I'd praise the actors for their excellent portrayal though. Veteran actor, Denden plays the energetic-everyone's-uncle role so well mixed with humor and sadistic tendencies. Asuka Kurosawa (whom I've seen play a similar role in The World of Kanako) plays the seductive wife well and Mitsuru Fukikoshi plays the pathetic average man so well and that transformation at the end. Silent but deadly. He played it well.
It's more disturbing that the film is loosely based on the "Saitama murder of dog lovers" as you watch the film and have that in mind (though Sono makes a point that it's based on a true story in the beginning), it helps to establish the "credibility" and "sincerity" of what you're actually watching rather than just a make-believe murder tale because murder can be overrated.
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Lingers in your mind long after the end credits
Edit: I still find myself thinking about this a LOT. One of the most memorable movies I've ever seen, I can see myself still remembering this in decades. Probably the most impactful movie I've ever watched. It refuses to leave my mind, but I can't bring myself to give it 5 stars.A good movie with some really great moments bogged down by an overreliance on shock value which cheapens some scenes. Compared to some of Sono's other movies, I found that some of the shocking scenes didn't have as much artistic merit and it detracted from the experience.
Absolutely insane performances from everybody, the two leads being the standouts. Denden's Yukio Murata was well acted and terrifying but Kippei Shiina's Joe Murata was the better Murata imo. Mitsuru Fukikoshi's Shamoto was an interesting character and very well acted. Some scenes were genuinely chilling. The visuals were also nice in general and the soundtrack was also well used. The Skater's Waltz can be really scary (⓿_⓿).
Really uncomfortable and unnerving watch which I found more fucked than The Forest of Love. I think the reason I prefer The Forest of Love is because it was done with more sense and more tastefully, as tastefully as intense gore can be I guess. It felt like things had purpose and a meaning. I guess the point of this is it felt like it didn't have purpose or meaning. Interested to watch more Sono, he is an interesting director. If you can't stomach gore, absolutely do not watch this. This is definitely something that will linger with me for a long time.
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This review may contain spoilers
Expertly sheds light on the duality of people pleasers.
My favourite thing about this movie is that, amognst Sonos filmography, it does the best job of presenting you with a central theme that cuts through the gore, overt and repeated sexual violence, and over-the-top circumstances. More expertly and more earnestly than any of his other films.It's central theme is one that puts a spotlight on the resentment that builds within people that are people pleasers. People that will knowingly say, do, agree, and commit to things that are against their better judgement and gut feelings to appease those around them, and manipulate the emotional relationship that they have with people. The resentment that can grow within a person who lives their life in this way can be palpable and manifests in ways that can be unexpected and dark, and this movie presents the most extreme limits this type of existence can take you to and the kinds of things it can lead you to become involved in. Sono of course presents this duality to us in his typical way with blood, gore, and nudity, but the pacing of this movie serves the audience well because it gives you time to begin to sympathise with the main characters plight, even after he eventually snaps.
The phenomenal performances of the entire cast in this movie do absolute wonders for bringing the tension and stress of this script and this story to life, and without their incredible performances the movie would not have delivered it's message and it's theme so well. Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Denden, and Kurosawa Asuka have several very heavy scenes between them and I can only image those shooting days and weeks took a toll on them.
Special mention to Kagurazaka Megumi for subjecting herself to these types of roles in her husbands films. I won't cast aspersions on their relationship, because I obviously don't know them, but I think it takes a very unique and special bond to be able to take on these roles that require intense sexual violence and nudity, all whilst your husband directs it.
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