SYNOPSIS:
A male body is discovered. He is strangled to death where
his face pulverized beyond recognition and fingers burned
to a crisp. Kaoru Utsumi (played by Kou Shibasaki) is assigned
to the case. The police face great difficulty in cracking
the case. Thus, she seeks advice from brilliant physicist
Manabu Yukawa (played by Masaharu Fukuyama), aka Detective
Galileo.
After analyzing the case, Yukawa suspects that the true genius
behind everything is Tetsuya Ishigami (played by Shinichi
Tsutsumi), the neighbor of victim's ex-wife. Ishigami happens
to be Yukawa's college friend whom he regards as a true mathematics
genius.
Elaborate
bluffs, false testimonials, loopholes in logic - all begin
to appear in Detective Galileo's way as if intentionally placed
as a challenge by someone with mathematical brilliance.
MOVIE REVIEW:
What are a mathematician and a physicist doing in a detective crime thriller you might ask?
In this intelligent plot of intrigue and humanity, accomplished Japanese actor/singer Masaharu Fukuyama plays Yukawa, a brilliant physicist who helps to analyze a murder case for rookie detective Utsumi (Shaolin Girl’s Kou Shibasaki). While many crime thrillers keep you guessing who the actual killer is, "Suspect X" goes the opposite way. The crime, killers and motive is revealed within minutes of the movie’s opening. It turns out that an old pal of Yukawa, an aloof high school maths teacher Ishigami (Shinichi Tsutsumi from Climber’s High) is suspected of involvement in the murder but the police are unable to uncover any clues and evidence that can link to it.
Unlike a typical crime thriller, "Suspect X" has no excessive violence, jump scare tactics nor even a foot chase between killer and cops. What it has is mind-blogging dialogues between the protagonists. Using mathematical functions and geometry as metaphors, it takes a hard look at life and even love which can be explained in mathematical terms. Some of the messages contained here are so profound and meaningful that to really grasp the gist of it is perhaps by mastering the Japanese language rather than relying on the translation.
Masaharu Fukuyama is flawless as Yukawa. On the surface he is a stoic, confident professor but lays an unseen emotional aspect of him. Kou Shibasaki’s role unfortunately has little for her to shine. Classically trained Shinichi Tsutsumi on the other hand easily overshadowed the main leads as the tortured mathematician genius, Ishigami. Nominated for best supporting actor in the Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in "Suspect X", Tsutsumi’s wretched portrayal might bring audience to tears towards the end.
The only flaw with "Suspect X" is not the leisurely paced plotting but the main characters, Yukawa and Utsumi. Despite the two consuming the most screentime, audience are presented with little knowledge and characterization of them at the end of the day.
However, like a complicated maths equation, once the answer is revealed, it isn’t that difficult to understand the true cause and effects of Ishigami’s motives. The battle of wits between the talented physicist and the genius mathematician are incredibly addictive, give this unusual detective thriller a chance. I’m sure it’s worth 129 minutes of your leisure time.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD comes with a photo gallery, trailers and TV spots.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital/DTS 5.1 is more than adequate to bring out the sound mix in this dialogue-based movie. The visual transfer is clear, colours are rich and deep even for the night shots.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
|
