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 ullying
is an ugly reality of growing up that most of us
can relate to, either as culprits or victims, but
we usually grow out of it when we finish
elementary school, or for some others, high
school. However, in some cases the harassment
extends beyond the schoolyard and into a person's
adult life, resulting in serious behavioral and
psychological problems. This is the backdrop for
"The Neighbor No. 13," the debut film
for director Yasuo Inoue, based on a manga by
Santa Inoue (no relation to the director).
"The Neighbor No.
13" opens with flashbacks to little Jûzô
Murasaki (Shun Oguri, "Azumi")
being mercilessly abused by school bully Akai
(Hirofumi Arai, "Blood
and Bones"). Akai's brutality includes
everything from drenching Jûzô with a garden
hose in the bathroom to pouring acid on his face
in science class. Jump forward to the present,
where we find Jûzô with his own apartment and a
job at a construction site. Things seem to be on
the up-and-up, so you can imagine Jûzô's shock
and dismay when he gets to work and finds out that
Akai is his site foreman.
While it seems Akai doesn't
recognize Jûzô, he's still as big a jerk as
ever, and begins harassing Jûzô on the work
site. As if things couldn't get any worse, Jûzô
returns home to find that Akai and his family have
moved into the apartment above his. Coincidence,
you say? It could also be that Jûzô has worse
luck than the `86 Red Sox. As the film progresses,
there are hints that this isn't happenstance, but
rather something much more sinister. The renewed
abuse by Akai brings long buried emotional baggage
back to the surface for Jûzô, just as strange
things start to happen to the people around him,
all coincident with the appearance of a
mysterious, disfigured brute known only as No. 13
(Shidô Nakamura).
From a technical standpoint,
"The Neighbor No. 13" is impressive.
Inoue proves to possess a deft hand behind the
camera and makes excellent use of light and
shadow. He also seems to have the art of mood down
pat. The film is quite dark and Inoue takes
advantage of the sets to force a sense of
claustrophobia and terror in every scene. Inoue
also showcases some pretty neat ideas in his
approach to presenting Jûzô's internal conflict,
such as the creepy red room that Jûzô uses as a
sort of staging area where he faces off with No.
13, as well as a wacky animated sequence that pops
up when Jûzô tries to explain his emotional
issues to a terrified coworker.
Unfortunately the film falls
flat in other areas. The concept of "The
Neighbor No. 13" has great potential, the
relationship between Jûzô and No. 13 being a
cunning conceit, but Inoue never really takes
advantage of the material. The first two-thirds of
the film cleverly builds up the tension, both
between Akai and Jûzô, as well as within Jûzô
himself. Inoue also uses No. 13 effectively by
gradually injecting him into the action, which
makes No. 13 quite a nightmarish figure. But what
should have been an explosive confrontation
instead comes across as hollow and anti-climactic.
The film also has serious
issues with pacing and acting. For what appears to
be a gritty revenge thriller, "The Neighbor
No. 13" moves slower than a snail in
molasses. There's deliberate and then there's the
pacing of "No. 13". Even in the middle
of the action sequences, Inoue has the actors
spending a great deal of time just standing around
doing nothing. This technique doesn't introduce
any dramatic tension, just exasperation.
The actors also do a poor job
of inhabiting their characters. There's hardly a
single emotional response that rings true; it's
not that they overact, it's that they don't react
at all, as if they're all on valium. Oguri injects
Jûzô with as much life as a doormat, while Arai
plays Akai as if he's got some kind of nerve
disorder. When faced with the most horrible
revelation imaginable, Akai barely registers an
eye twitch. But the biggest letdown is Nakamura,
who plays No. 13 like he's sleepwalking. This guy
is supposed to be the literal embodiment of evil,
but aside from the scars on his face, to look at
him he couldn't scare a cat off a fish tank.
"The Neighbor No.
13" has a plot with great potential, but
squanders it with leaden pacing and listless
performances. I'm not sure if Inoue was aping the
aloof style often found in Korean films, but in
this case it comes across as simply boring. The
film has plenty of mood and atmosphere, and genre
fans will get a kick out of the
blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo by Takashi Miike,
but it's just not enough. Thrillers should get
your adrenaline pumping (for example, Wes Craven's
"Red
Eye"), not require NoDoz to help you
through it. There are lots of good ideas here, but
not enough follow through. |
