Film adaptation of the successful novel of the same title, written by Catherine Hanrahan and directed by William Olsson, starring the beautiful actress Alexandra Daddario.
What is the plot of the film?
Margaret lives in Tokyo, has a job at a flight crew school, where she teaches English to students. She seems unhappy with her job and her life. She is late for work, because of her exessive partying and sex at night. She drinks and enjoys Tokyo's nights, having sexual adventures with any man who crosses her path, and is a regular visitor to the Hotels of Love. One day, she meets Kazu, an attractive member of the Yakuza. The two will start a dangerous romance.
When I read the synopsis of the film and learned about the director's previous work, I was thrilled to see him. A foreigner in Tokyo, addicted to casual sex, falls in love with a dangerous member of the Japanese mafia, is a good mix for a story. But when I finished watching the film, I was very disappointed. This time, filmmaker Olsson did a very irregular job.
For a moment it seems like an introspective study of the character Margaret, who seems to be fleeing from her past in America, that we never know what she is. We don't know what she's running from, what she wants to forget. And for other moments it seems that the director wants to exploit the film as an erotic drama, with some sordid scenes, but which do not end up giving meaning to the whole.
Margaret is a beautiful woman, but she decides to sleep with anyone, attractive or not. She wants to be subdued, abused and even at some point she wishes for death. But what is the reason? What is the trauma? What happens in her life? She is a lost girl, as the title of the film says, but it is never clear what causes her self-exile in Tokyo, where she destroys herself between alcohol and sex.
The romance between Margaret and Kazu is very accelerated, she falls madly in love with this member of the Yakuza, to the point that she becomes obsessed with him. Kazu is engaged and soon to be married. But as an erotic romantic drama, the film also fails, the two characters have no chemistry between them. For us to create the romance, the love, the characters must convey it on the screen. Something that doesn't happen.
Among the positive things, there is the setting of some of the scenes, which portray the sordidness of the places Margaret visits, bars and love hotels, where she has the dangerous sexual relations with strangers.
The film is an adaptation of the novel by Canadian writer Catherine Hanrahan, she was in charge of writing the script of her own novel. The book, published in 2007, received good reviews, the writer stated that it was based on her own experiences, when she spent some time living and teaching English in Tokyo.
William Olsson, the director of the film, has a short career, but the two previous films were interesting proposals, which did not cause impact, but showed the talent of the filmmaker and the personal touch he gives to his cinema. An American Affair and Reliance. He was also the executive director of the film Swiss Army Man.
The film is not quite solid in its history, but there was a reason I saw it complete: Alexandra Daddario's performance.
The actress Alexandra Daddario is beautiful, no one can say otherwise. And in this film, where she is the absolute protagonist, she is 10 times more beautiful. In each shot of this woman's face, I fell more in love with her. Those extraordinary eyes drive any mortal crazy. Oh, my God!
Daddario plays Margaret, the girl who seeks to find a meaning to her life and for that she chooses the path of getting drunk and having lots of sex. We perceive the energy that the actress imposed on her character, we see her dedicated to giving the best of herself in this role. She is the best in the film, it's a shame that the film is irregular. For the time being we will have to continue seeing her in comedies and other minor films, but I hope she will continue to accept more demanding acting jobs.
Japanese actor Takehiro Hira plays Kazu, the Yakuza man who also falls in love with Margaret, but the rules that govern his life prevent him from being free to do what he wants. The actor has worked in more than 30 films in his country, he is a well known actor in his homeland. I can't value his work, but I said it before, there was no chemistry between the characters.
Among the other supporting characters, we find the actress Carice van Houten, the famous priestess Melisandre from Game of Thrones. The actress plays Agnes, another foreigner in Japan, a friend of the main character, but her character ends up being a waste, she is only there to say a few sentences about her experience in the city.
The story promised to be good, but the film falls short, unable to find the right path. Partly psychological drama and erotic drama. I'm left with Daddario's performance and his captivating blue eyes.
My Ranking: 2.5/5
Trailer
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