Title: Shoutai / 正体
Rating: 7 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who want to watch a suspense-humanity story about prejudice, inequality and injustice and/or are fans of the cast especially Yokohama Ryuusei, Yoshioka Riho & Yamada Takayuki
* Disclaimer: I have not read the novel nor watched the drama version.
* Currently showing on Netflix (availability depending on geographical location)
Liked:
- While the story may focus on Kaburagi Keiichi's journey of being on the run and trying to prove his innocence, what made this more than a simple suspense story was the humanity topics of prejudice, inequality, injustice, societal solitude, being wronged as well as the heartwarming side of personal interactions. Although Kaburagi may have taken on different identities and changed his appearance multiple times, the essence of his kind personality despite suffering so much was still present in various scenes. For example, when the police officer Matanuki came to visit Kaburagi at the prison after he was caught, the latter could have ignored him or talked rudely because of the injustice partly inflicted by Matanuki. However, Kaburagi still talked in polite speech without raising his voice. As such, this was quite unexpected considering the circumstances. I especially liked the last few scenes where the people Kaburagi met while on the run came to visit him and talk about their plans for the future with him. That was really moving and showed how much of an effect he had on their lives during the short periods of time they spent together. It also reflected much promise and hope for Kaburagi's future despite the ordeal he went through.
- Yokohama managed to make the variations of Kaburagi distinct yet similar at the same time. While appearances and mannerisms may change to conceal his identity, the common theme among these variations was his silent strength and strong resolve to clear his name. On the other hand, each variation in a different setting allowed him to showcase his acting skills so it made sense why he has been winning praise for his performance.
Yoshioka also came across as pretty eye-catching this time with her portrayal of Ando Sayaka. Her scenes with Yokohama while Kaburagi was staying with her and later on when they met in the prison were very enjoyable to watch.
As for Yamada, he didn't really have scenes which allowed him to show the emotions of his character in an outwardly manner but as a viewer, the conflict within him hidden underneath that seemingly emotionless facade was unmistakable.
Disliked:
- As a suspense story, I thought that this aspect was a tad lacking in terms of complexity and that the resolution seemed a bit coincidental. If the real killer had never struck again, there might not have been an opportunity for Kaburagi to seek justice for himself. Likewise, the police's handling of the case was so slipshod that it felt so unbelievable. While the movie did show why Kaburagi was implicated since the circumstances did show him in a suspicious light, the motive behind those in power "setting him up as the murderer" for the sake of being an "example" for deterrence purposes or taking the easy way out to close a case did make me wonder why there seemed to be no checks-and-balances to prevent power abuse and injustices. Of course, in real life, there had been such cases of people being wronged for serious crimes like murder but still, I was looking for a more logical approach in this movie to show me how Kaburagi could have been wronged for so long with no recourse and without reasonable doubt.
- Given that the movie was just 2 hours, it was inevitable that some things had to go which might have been covered more adequately in the drama series or the novel. While I am not sure the extent of the differences between these versions, I felt that the editing towards the end was somewhat rushed and messy as the portion where Kaburagi infiltrated the seafood processing factory was effectively reduced to just flashbacks and the timeline immediately jumped to the nursing home arc which was comparatively more important since it was the climax. Perhaps too much time was spent on the earlier portions that they had to make sure that the movie still fitted within the 2-hr limitation.
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