Guilty of Romance

The awesomely inappropriately titled Guilty of Romance is Sono Sion's recent take on another dysfunctional family dynamic. It was billed as the final installment of a trilogy of movies; the first two being Love Exposure and Cold Fish. However, I'm not sure why these films are considered to be linked together in any way, and Sono has been making movies like this for a quite a while. Aside from the aforementioned films, Noriko's Dinner Table, Suicide Club, Strange Circus, and several others all fit a similar mold.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

If you're not familiar with Sono's work, you should be. He specializes in telling stories involving family and personal relationships from a peculiarly dark perspective. Often sensationalistic, and packed full of cult like themes, sex, violence, and depravity, his films frequently leave an indelible impression on the viewer. It takes more than that to get my attention though, and, it's pretty clear this is a very talented director and writer who has delivered a number of spectacularly effective films over the years. Cold Fish is a wonderfully devious and subversive movie, and I can think of very few films that can be compared to the epic (and I do mean epic) Love Exposure.

Needless to say, Sono's films aren't for everyone, and many people will find them disturbing or distasteful. Oh, and you'll definitely want to keep the kids as far away from these movies as possible. One almost has to wonder if there is something wrong with this director's mind, or, if there was some traumatic past experience that forever shaped his view of the world. It's hard to imagine that any rational person could, or would want to, tell so many bizarre stories about the darker side of a person's soul. Regardless of wherever he draws his inspiration, this dude is clearly walking a fine line that often borders on being equal parts brilliant and insane. What results on screen is often fascinating to watch though, and, that's just fine by me.

Guilty of Romance follows Sono's trademark style of storytelling. Everybody is basically a weirdo or deviant, or soon will be. Megumi Kagurazaka (who played the role of the supporting wife in Cold Fish) takes the lead here. She plays the dutiful (albeit sexually repressed) wife of a famous romance novelist. Bored with her everyday housewife routine, she searches for an outlet which soon leads her down a path from light modeling to porn star to sex obsessed prostitute. Her transformation from reserved woman to sexually insatiable beast is impressive to say the least. It took some guts for this actress to just take on this role, let alone embrace it the way she did; she gets naked (a lot), and she has sex (a lot), throughout this film. In addition to her blistering physical performance, Ms. Kagurazaka does an equally fine job of portraying the changing/growing thoughts & feelings of her character as one would be inclined to expect within the context of the role she was given. She single handily drives this film to be better than it should be, and, she is by far the best part of this whole endeavor.

There's 4 other primary characters in this film. There's the husband (who may or may not be hiding his own secret life), the female professor (who has long since undergone her own secret sexual transformation, and whom now acts as somewhat of a mentor to Megumi's character), the mother of the professor (who doesn't take too kindly to tolerating her daughter'-in-law's debauchery), and the playboy/pimp dude who helps facilitate much of the sexual goings on.

As the story progresses, all primary characters discover more about each other and themselves, while the plot unfolds towards the big finale. It's all pretty standard stuff (for a Sono film), but, there was very little that stood out or surprised me here. In fact, I was a bit disappointed overall. Whereas many of Sono's previous films have an oddly free flowing appeal to them, Guilty of Romance seems to be quite a bit more forced and contrived, if not downright pretentious, and it's all very linear in nature. As with the case with many of his films, there's usually a character or two, or some event, that sends the protagonist on their journey of discovery, and, that's no different here. The pimp, professor, and mother, all play their part in filling this role in this instance, but I think there was far too much importance placed on the significance of each of these characters. These characters also serve to be part of a secondary story that revolves around a murder mystery. This whole entire secondary story was unnecessary in my opinion, and this only served to detract from the primary focus of the film.

This film would have probably been better served to just concentrate on the role of the lead character, and, to just let the star of the film have at it! It would have been far more interesting to just observe her performance, and what the effects and outcome of her actions would ultimately have on her life and her marriage. The lead role didn't really require the heavy handed impetus of the other characters in the story. Handling them as more of fleeting acquaintances (similar to how the modeling scout or porno actor were implemented) would have likely worked much better overall.

Overall, I did enjoy this movie enough for the most part to recommend, and, as usual for a Sono film, it is quite memorable. But, I've come to expect more from this director over the years; I guess that's the price one must continually pay for repeated success. Worth it alone, though, just for Megumi Kagurazaka's incredible performance.

6-7 out of 10 stars should do it. I'll give it a 7.

P.S. This film borders on being a stylized soft core porn film with a story to tell. So, Viewer Beware!

Follows three call-girls and their intertwining lives inside the Castle Love Hotel ------------ A bored housewife decides to live life on the wild side .. She's introduced to the sex world through nude modeling , and after a scary encounter in the Love Hotel District she becomes attracted to a bold proud call-girl who takes her under her wing .

She teaches the housewife to cherish her body as a play-toy , and charge every man when there's sex involved not out of love .. The housewife's life slowly degenerates until she and call-girl pasts come colliding together ..

A police detective (who's also call-girl on side), investigates the murder of one of the women , as the case sheds some insight on the life she's living aswell ---------------- NC-21 :: Highly adult , Highly perverse .. Do not watch around children or elders

8.5/10

A barbaric murder occurs in a love hotel district of Tokyo, and Kazuko Yoshida leads the investigative team, her story interweaving with that of Izumi, the wife of a renowned writer. Izumi leads a banal existence of no excitement, constantly at the behest of her exacting husband. Trying to break the monotony, she gets a job, where a modelling agent spies her beauty and naivety. Izumi is then lured into the world of pornographic modelling, and soon is deep inside the underground sex industry, surrounded by degenerates and curs. A woman named Mitsuko takes Izumi under her wing, but whether or not Mitsuko's plans for Izumi are honorable- and how their story links in with Kazuko's- remains to be seen in Sion Sono's 'Guilty of Romance.'

Inspired by the infamous Yasuko Watanabe case, 'Guilty of Romance' is a hard-hitting, sinister drama that is quite depressing and absolutely riveting. Sono's tale paints a portrait of a profoundly sad, lonely woman trying to find a sense of agency in her life, and how she is ultimately corrupted and exploited by a society built on self-interest and full of vacuous cads. It is gritty and devastating, though it must be said that the latter part of the film gets rather muddled and contrived.

The simple poignancy of Izumi's tale is slightly obscured by all the sound and fury of the second half, full of twists and turns that feel unnecessary and trite. That said, the film as a whole is still powerful, and at close to two and a half hours; it's not surprising that 'Guilty of Romance' lags in places.

Cinematographer Sôhei Tanikawa and Sono have worked together numerous times, their collaborations usually resulting in striking visuals that one remembers long after seeing them. Such is the case with 'Guilty of Romance;' it is a neon-soaked feast for the eyes. The use of colour in the film is particularly effective and artistic, as well as Tanikawa's work with light and shadow and the composition and framing of images on screen. Tanikawa's efforts add unquestionable power to scenes, and is very memorable.

Jun'ichi Itô's editing is restrained but alert work, he allows scenes play in their own time, but doesn't let things drag out. The film also benefits from Chiyoe Hakamada's costume design, which is understated and evocative. The clothing she designed for Mitsuko is particularly strong, with the outfits adding depth to the character and suiting the dual sides of her personality perfectly. Also of note is Yasuhiro Morinaga's muted score, which is dramatic and atmospheric, lending to the proceedings a tragic air most in keeping with the subject matter.

'Guilty of Romance' has a cast all performing at the top of their games. Megumi Kagurazaka stars as Izumi, giving a multi-faceted, subtle performance both alluring and affecting. She portrays the character as she undergoes a remarkable change from naïve housewife to grande horizontale masterfully, remaining sympathetic throughout. It is a brave performance many others couldn't pull off, and Kagurazaka does it with an enviable, enrapturing ease and grace.

Makoto Togashi co-stars as Mitsuko, an incredibly complicated and dangerous woman, delivering a performance of great intensity and strength. She is frankly terrifying at times, and is clearly enjoying playing such an unhinged character. She imbues Mitsuko with much depth, however, making her a believable creation, as well as a frightening one. Not in the film until roughly the halfway mark, as soon as Togashi is on-screen she draws your attention and keeps it held.

Miki Mizuno also stars, as the policewoman Kazuko, and though her story is less interesting, Mizuno performs well, leaving an indelible impression on the viewer. From the supporting cast, Kanji Tsuda and Ryûju Kobayashi stand out, giving two strong performances as Izumi's husband- who has his own secrets- and a seedy pimp with a fondness for pink paint, respectively.

'Guilty of Romance' is a dark drama that is difficult to watch in places, but always captivating. Though the story loses steam in the last act, the power of the narrative is not overly hampered. Strongly acted and featuring striking visuals from Sôhei Tanikawa, it is an experience not easily forgotten. The film may be guilty of having a weak last act and a bad title, but on all other charges it is innocent; apart from the charge of being powerful, absorbing cinema. Of that, it is guilty on all counts.

This movie is disgusting and completely depraved. All characters are despicable. But below the surface lies a poignant critique of modernity. We live in an era which is totally nihilistic. There is no transcendence, no higher purpose in life anymore and thus no morality. These circumstances are a result of "good" times, in purely economic, materialistic terms. Because "good" times create weak men, who in turn create women who are absolute harlots, which furthermore turns any once great society into a degenerate Sodom and Gomorrah of soulless, depressed and unhappy prostitutes, metaphorical or in some cases literal.

Very unusual and intriguing.

Starts off incredibly well - edgy, very interesting, and doesn't give much away. The transformation of the author's wife is captivating, and has many lessons in liberty, self-will, individualism and their consequences.

However, the second act is confusing, drags on a bit and the plot is not entirely water-tight. Some things just seem added in for shock or weirdness value.

The conclusion is good and closes the loop well, though leaving room for a continuing moral.

Solid performances all round.