First Love is an entertaining crime thriller from acclaimed director Takashi Miike.

 

Today's blog post is dedicated to one of my favourite movie directors. Famous for comedic, over the top, violence and zaniness, I'm of course referring to Takashi Miike. I've already covered the 2 Crows Zero movies that he made in the 2000s and today I wanted to cover a movie released a decade later. The movie I'm going to be talking about is 2019's First Love! First Love is a crime thriller with some trademark Miike blended in. 

The movie begins by introducing us to our main protagonist, promising up and coming boxer, Leo Katsuragi. We see the young boxer training and are then treated to our first fight in which Leo emerges victorious. His coach suggests that there's something holding him back but doesn't know what it is. Miike then spices things up by cutting to a head rolling along the street with its owner being decapitated. Classic Miike! When we next see Leo, he falls in the ring to a weak punch and is counted out. After this surprising loss, Leo visits the hospital and receives some devastating news. His doctor reveals that his brain scan uncovered a brain tumour which forces Leo to quit boxing and worse, he is told that he doesn't have that long left to life. 

Leo then aimlessly wanders Tokyo and gets angry at a fortune teller who states that he is young and has a long life to live. Upon storming off, he is suddenly passed by a frightened, drug addict and prostitute, who is in the midst of running away from her pursuer, corrupt cop Omoto. When he hears and sees Monica aka Yuri cry for help, he reacts by throwing a knockout punch that floors Omoto. This punch has severe consequences as it makes Leo become embroiled a war between Yakuza and Triads. Omoto was working with Kase, a small time Yakuza who planned to rob a shipment of drugs from his own clan. This all leads to a confrontation between all the parties involved and a lot of deaths. 

                          

First Love shouldn't be judged based on its name alone. Whilst there is an element of romance in the movie, it's much more than that. Leo Katsuragi is a boxer that lacks something to fight for and that lack of true meaning as to what he's fighting for is what causes him to take that surprising loss. Boxing is the only thing he can do and yet he doesn't seem completely invested in it.

Yuri aka Monica is a prostitute because her abusive father forced her into it in order to pay off a sizeable debt. Because of the abuse she suffered and the subsequent forced prostitution, she has become dependent on drugs as a means to cope with it all. Her hallucinations of her abusive father certainly seem to indicate that the drugs are a coping mechanism for her. 

Yuri's dependence on drugs is eventually replaced by a dependence on Leo after he saved her from Otomo. What's interesting is the fact that she didn't see Leo as Leo instead she hallucinated her old classmate, Ryuji. Naturally, over the course of the events of the movie things change, and she grows to depend on Leo himself and not the hallucination she thought he was. 

Leo on the other hand, knocked out Omoto due to his desire to protect Monica. Ironically, this turns out to be the thing that gives Leo the meaning that he had lacked. Now, protecting Monica is the reason why he fights. 

The action scenes are done with typical Miike flair. The major fights are extremely cinematic, with the fight between Gondo and Wang being a prolonged swordfight that sees both sustain a multitude of injuries. The only time it goes extremely over the top is when it comes to Kase's fights after he has rubbed some meth into his body. In his drug addled state, Kase gets shot multiple times, but doesn't seem to feel any pain. In contrast to this sequence, the boxing scenes are down to earth and quite realistic.

Miike is a terrific director and it's no surprise that he makes dynamic use of various types of shots to frame the narrative wonderfully. There's some good use of shaky cam that add to the impact of certain violence such as Leo's punches in the final showdown. My favourite shot comes towards the very end of the movie. It's a wide shot of a car chase between a Yakuza and the police across a long bridge. The sun is beautiful as it rises into the sky.

In terms of performances, the whole cast was pretty solid. Masataka Kubota once again delivers a brilliant, believable performance as Leo Katsuragi. He never strays into over acting and instead remains understated in the best way. Kubota may be one of the best actors currently in the business. His on-screen partner, Sakurako Konishi, was impressive as Monica aka Yuri. She made me want to jump in the screen and protect her! She handled some tough material with maturity and embodies the character magnificently. 

Shota Sometani puts in a brilliant performance as the clumsy, scheming low level Yakuza, Kase. He is hilarious and is responsible for one of my personal favourite scenes. In said scene, he fumbles murdering Julie and ends up knocking out an old lady, the image of him punching out the old woman is golden. His presence boosts the scenes he is present in. His partner in crime, corrupt cop Omoto is also played expertly by the underappreciated and yet supremely talented Nao Omori. Omori is a frequent collaborator of Miike's, and his performance shows us why. 

I must also mention Seiyo Uchino, his performance as Yakuza boss Gondo was pure badass and he delivers some great dialogue towards the very end of the movie. 

The one major negative that I unfortunately want to point out is the fact that Becky plays a major role in the story. The scandalous hafu almost ruined the movie for me as I greatly dislike the adulterer. Despite this, her performance was better than expected even if I wanted to skip her scenes.

Overall, Takashi Miike once again delivered an entertaining crime thriller with elements of comedy, romance and of course action. It's got memorable moments, great cinematic fights, a compelling narrative and some hilarity. Naturally, I'd recommend First Love to fans of Takashi Miike and also those who enjoy crime thrillers, action movies and a little zaniness.