Noise is a tense, suspenseful slow-paced crime drama/thriller.

 

Today's blog post happens to feature Tatsuya Fujiwara again. He's one of my favourite actors and thus, whenever I see his name in a movie or drama's credits it becomes must-watch for me. Today's focus is a neat, well-crafted thriller with an intriguing premise. Based on a manga by Tetsuya Tsutsui, it's the movie Noise! 

The movie begins with a voiceover from a girl that is relevant to the story as it comes up later. The girl talks about a hot day in which she and her family go to an amusement park and then have ice cream, it was apparently very good! Then we see a middle-aged man driving what appears to be a stranger around the beautiful island setting. The stranger gives off creepy vibes and seemingly out of nowhere, he strangles the poor middle-aged driver for no apparent reason. Poor guy was just trying to be helpful! Soon after, the stranger ends up having a one-sided interaction with main characters Keita Izumi and Jun Tanabe. The two ask the stranger whether he'd paid for the beverage he had taken from Keita's property before the stranger just walks away with no response. We next see the stranger sneaking around Keita's home as he spots Keita's daughter Erina, the girl who voiced the opening, and acts like an absolute creep. Erina disappears without the movie showing the audience what has happening. Keita enlists the help of his best friend Jun, his wife Kana and local police officer Shinichiro in the search for Erina. 

Keita encounters the stranger within his fig farm and calls Jun and Shin for backup. As the trio apprehend the creep, they accidentally end up killing him. Shocked, the trio of friends decide to protect the island by hiding the body and keeping the incident a secret. Naturally, as one might expect from such a movie, things don't quite go to plan, and things get complicated when both the mayor and mainland police get involved. 

Noise makes great use of its beautiful island setting and the close ties of a small community. The islanders want to protect their peace that has suddenly been shattered with the murder and the subsequent arrival of mainland police forces. It's intriguing that the islanders treat the police officers/detectives with a certain distrust and distain. They even tell them to leave and almost view the police as invaders and villains when they're just trying to do their job and solve the murder (or rather disappearance as they don't know of the stranger's death at first). It's almost as though the locals view the island as sacred. The main trio go to great lengths to protect the peace and they view their actions as justified. Keita in particular shoulders a great burden as his fig farm gains national attention and presents the island with a government grant opportunity. 

As far as the cinematography is concerned, the movie is gorgeously shot. Several long shots showcase the magnificent beauty of the idyllic island throughout the movie. There's also lots of panning shots and the camera is rarely idle with only necessary static shots. Atsuhiro Nabeshima did a fantastic job. 

The movie and editing have a slow, almost leisurely pace at times. That doesn't stop it from being a solid, worthwhile thriller though and there's a beautiful call-back at the very end of the movie as well as a very well-done twist. The twist towards the end had me nodding in approval as the character that is responsible for certain actions had made me suspicious that something was up with various facial expressions and looks. Great foreshadowing, as it's definitely noticeable if you search for it.

In terms of performances, Tatsuya Fujiwara was outstanding in his portrayal of Keita Izumi. He gives a measured performance, full of emotion without ever going over the top and is very believable. In a casting choice that also made me very happy, Kenichi Matsuyama delivered a fine performance as the broody, introverted Jun Tanabe. Fujiwara and Matsuyama of course had previously acted opposite one another as Light Yagami and L respectively in a live action Death Note series of movies. Masatoshi Nagase puts in a cool performance as the stoic and stylish noir-like detective and the wide shot that shows him confronting Keita is one of my favourites in the movie. Haru Kuroki put in a splendid performance as Kana in a role in which could have been forgettable otherwise. 

Overall, I think that Noise is a solid thriller that is engaging despite its rather slow pace. It has a great premise and delivers on it superbly. Ryuichi Hiroki has proven himself to be a very competent director. The cast were excellent, and the setting really is its own character. If you're a fan of crime dramas or thrillers I would definitely recommend Noise.