A riveting mystery thriller by Kazuya Shiraishi, one of Japan's more prominent modern directors.
It's surprisingly emotional as it proceeds about its plot in a procedural fashion. Lonely teenager receives a letter by convicted serial killer who claims one of the murders wasn't actually done by him. Great premise for a thriller, isn't it? But there's more than meets the eye here. There are complex family dynamics and child abuse present in the background, constantly putting this in a more challenging and demanding territory than if it was a standard mystery.
Shiraishi ably directs this film, giving his actors plenty of opportunities to show their worth, and they do. Kenshi Okada as our protagonist, student-turned-sleuth Kakei Masaya, is capable of holding his own even if he isn't actually the main draw in the acting performances here. That would be Sadao Abe as the chilling serial killer. He steals almost every scene he's in, sporting a lot of charisma but always off as a person like that probably would be. He's alternately sinister and calm, sometimes revealing his utter lack of morality and emotion. Those sequences, often stylishly juxtaposing his image with Kakei's during his prison visits, are the film's most effective.
The visuals are quite atmospheric and appealing too. The overall production value, in fact, is at a high level all around. There's no shortage of style or substance. Compared to another recent Japanese serial killer thriller, Missing, this one is more straightforward, but provides plenty of quality content of its own. The downsides aren't numerous, but one of them deserves a mention, though. That would be the film's insistence on drawing out the ending until it starts souring the film's impact a bit. There were scenes which would have perfectly bookended the story, but they kept on revealing more unnecessary twists and turns. You would hope they'd know better than that.
Overall, though, I was pretty satisfied with this rainy mystery. It's one for those cold evenings with a hot drink by your side. :)
