Guilty of Romance (2011)

Sinister but confusing.

The good:
Holds nothing back
Conclusion is satisfying
Relatable characters

The bad:
Dialogue is a little contrived in some scenes
Pacing
Shallow

Guilty of Romance is very full frontal throughout the entire movie. Nothing seems to be off limits for the director in all of his films but Guilty of Romance seems to be the pinnacle of this trait. Unfortunately I started to lose my way a little bit in the story just after the one hour mark, the pacing of the film changed and the order of events got very jumbled up. The dialogue of the characters and the abstract nature of what they were discussing didn't seem to fit within the narrative. However, the ending of the film saved this for the most part because things were wrapped up and explained quite clearly in the end. No major loose ends.

Kagurazaka Megumi does a fantastic job as usual. This actress really sells her characters in all her movies very well, and seems to be able to tap into motivations to make them real and believable very easily. Supporting cast is good, but no stand out performances.

The biggest issue I had with this movie is how seemingly shallow it is. There isn't much to take away from all of this, which is fine, but I felt like the intention was to say more than it actually said. Because of this the rewatch value is low, and the pacing makes it difficult to invest into the characters beyond a superficial level. I understand their motivations but it all seems a little TOO chaotic for me to really connect with any of them.

Worth a watch simply for the extreme nature of the film, I can see this film connecting a lot more with others than it did with me.

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