Quick Review #38: "Motto chouetsu shita tokoro e"

Title: Motto chouetsu shita tokoro e / もっと超越したところへ

Rating: 8 /10 

Recommended for: 

Those who like a well-crafted unconventional love story and are fans of the cast

Liked:

- At first, I thought that this was just another typical story about how women fall for good-for-nothing and flawed guys and cannot bring themselves to end such toxic relationships. However, things started to improve dramatically from the mid-point when it was revealed that the four couples featured here actually had their fates intertwined some time back in the past. The twist was well-engineered and gave an inkling into why these women were still stuck in such hopeless relationships with equally, if not worse men compared to their exes. 

- The acting from the 4 female leads especially Maeda Atsuko and Shuri was simply impressive. I really liked how they all managed to show the strong and vulnerable sides of their characters which made them endearing and incomprehensible at the same time. At some points, I thought that these women deserved to get these guys in their lives but on the other hand, it was hard not to empathise with their plights. When these women were lashing out at these rotten guys in their lives, that was so gratifying and very engaging to watch. The actors who played these hopeless boyfriends (especially Kikuchi Fuuma, Chiba Yuudai and Miura Takahiro) also managed to deliver such a convincing performance because I was so annoyed at them and kept rolling eyes at their behaviours.

Disliked: 

- While the story was balanced by not laying the blame of the toxic relationships entirely on the men or the women, I think that the ending would make the audience divided. Either you would think that it is the icing on the cake or that it spoiled everything that was built up till that point. Unfortunately for me, I really didn't like the final twist and the delivery of it was just so silly. While I get that this movie was adapted from a stage play and could need that part to "liven up the mood and show the joyous side of the so-called happy ending", I couldn't help but wonder if these women really benefited from the entire experience. It just seemed as if the women's short-lived awakening and self-realisation went down the drain in a split second and all that drama was for nothing.

* Note: Stay till the credits section for some behind-the-scenes still shots of the cast.