[Review] Nou Otoko Movie (脳男)

Hello my lovelies,

A friend recently asked me if I had seen Nou Otoko (脳男), instead I read her text as have I seen NAO Otoko. Nao is a name, quite common in Japan in my opinion. So I asked her who is NAO’s man? I think she was either annoyed by my answer or it could be that she too was surprised that I did not know about the movie and sent me a link about the movie.

I am very sorry, but YES, I have seen the movie, both in the theaters and also on DVD. But NO. I did not watch it because I have a crush on the main actor nor is he my favorite actor.

Working poster of Nou Otoko [脳男] (Pic credit to: Movielove)

Synopsis
    Behind a mysterious emotionless killing machine there is history. Behind the genius brilliance there was negligence. Suzuki Ichirou came out as an emotionless perfect killing machine. In face not only was he posed as a person defect of emotion but also he was deprived of the sense of pain.

    Yet instead of a villain, Suzuki played by Ikuta Toma was more of an anti-hero instead. The anti-hero that lives bounded to a schedule that plays his daily routine of the moment he opens his eyes to the very moment he takes a leak.

    Astonished by this weird yet amazingly capable emotionless killer, psychologist, Dr. Washiya whose list of achievements was compelling to say the least (not to mention the list of reformed psycho that she had treated), took the challenge to reform this unstably unique human being.

    Along the way, a duo psycho killer whose motive was unclear is trying their best to kill both Suzuki and the doctor. Interestingly, this duo too has secrets of their own.
Meanwhile in the world of normalcy, Detective Chaya was trying to solve the case that to him is like any other cases that he needs to chase and solve. The mix of this psychotically brilliant, insanely intelligent, seductively murderous and insanely interesting mix characters are just the icing on the cake.

 

At the very least I could say is that this movie was INSANE with a super capital I (if that is even possible). Nou otoko is a movie where the hero is an anti-hero, the damsel in distress is the person trying to understand the hero and the bad man is two little insane lesbians who kill for the thrill of it.

In my book Ikuta Toma does have a pretty well track record with his acting career with little glitches here and there (namely Ningen Shikaku and Genji Monogatari) but he is a not so bad actor, not amazing, but much better than most Johnny’s Entertainment actors.

Ikuta portrayed his character, Suzuki Ichirou very stoically yet amazingly aware and very intelligent. He barely spoke in the movie itself, maybe a few lines here and there and could be a round 50 to 75 lines through out the whole 2 hours of the movie. It is amazing for a character to express his feelings and thoughts merely by his eyes and movements instead of visualizing the emotion itself on their face and with their lines. Ikuta really did a great job embodying the character Suzuki Ichirou. Although he was not as effective as the late Heath Ledger would be if he had the chance to embody this very character but he was close enough to be at almost the same level. The pretty boy face does give him the added advantage.

Something about Ikuta that surprises me was his movements while fighting (and killing). It really shows that he had been practicing, rehearsing and preparing very very hard for the role. The choreography is not an easy one and especially for a dancer, it was very sharp and precise. Of course, being a dancer it helps for the lightness in the movement but they usually lack preciseness and detail for executing a fighting scene. Yet, Ikuta did unexpectedly well executing both movement and self-control. Kudos for the choreographer who really did a great job on the define movement and sharp targets.

The doctor who played Dr. Washiya is not less amazing as well. Her character has a few baggage of her own as well and for Matsuyuki Yasuko to embody this particular character, I suppose was quite a challenge as well. She was very strong yet vulnerable. She is not afraid to show her strength and yet she breaks down and shows the delicate side of her. She did an amazing job at delivering the character yet she did not over do it. If only this character was given to a more younger and inexperienced actress, the whole movie would come crumbling down.

One person that stands out above the rest in my opinion would be the killer character named Midorikawa Noriko acted by Nikaido Fumi. Nikaido is such an amazing young actress and she seemed to be very organic yet raw at playing the psychotic character. For such a fresh face, it is amazing how her acting can actually make your hair stand on its ends just by portraying how heartless and cold a person can be. At such tender age she could portray a character that not only could laugh while in tears but she could also play the insanity just with her eyes and not by actions. I was really surprised she did not get more amazing roles after her work in this movie. She was even better than Ikuta himself.

The other things about the movie was just not bad. The cinematography, the camera decisions and the other actors were not bad, but nothing to rave about. There were some glitches here and there and there was a few continuity mistakes here and there also the appearance of equipment. It was not surprise to me about these kinds of glitches though. Even great Hollywood films have their fair share of these as well.

Overall I did enjoy the movie, and I do recommend this for anyone who like gore and thrills. For me this movie was not as gory as some would put it but it has it’s fair share of blood, explosions and distaste killings. What disturbs me more is that knowing the fact that, ‘If a person could think of such a character it would be no surprise to me if this kind of character or similar in terms of both brilliance and traits’.

Was it a good movie? Yes. Does it give me satisfaction? Yes. Is it worth watching? Definitely. I would rate this movie a 4.5 out of 5 (4.5/5) for overall satisfaction and enjoyment. Do watch this movie and give me a feedback at anytime.

Love and Kisses,

GWRL