Event

SHADY

Dir. Ryohei Watanabe, 2012
Japan. 94 min.
In Japanese with English subtitles.

A feature debut from Watanabe, SHADY lives up to its title, setting up a typical Japanese coming-of-age drama before sliding into something much darker. Typical does disservice to the films first half the friendship that blossoms between pudgy, shy Misa (nicknamed Pooh by classmates) and bubbly, pretty Izumi has real intimacy and depth, but Watanabe, a screenwriter by trade, clearly knows, hits, and (more importantly) manipulates all the genres beats. When the tonal shift comes, it seems sudden, yet Watanabes carefully set the path all along.

Misa is initially confused as to why seemingly popular Izumi seeks out her friendship, only to learn Izumis looks have earned her the endless jealousy of all the other girls. Ostracized on opposite ends, the two find what they need in each other joy for Misa, stability for Izumi. The nuance captured is all the more amazing as this is an acting first for both leads Mimp*b, the pop singer playing Misa, also worked on the score. As the two girls become more deeply intertwined, tension mounts as small cracks grow into gaping voids.