Film Review: Monster

Have you ever felt there was something wrong with you? That maybe you don’t fit in? That perhaps you’re not even human?

Monster is a film that centres around the mysterious actions of two young boys as they struggle with their identities in a small Japanese community, until their ambiguous relationship soon becomes a catalyst for tragic events. 

One of the boys, Minato (Soya Kurasawa), has started to display worrying behaviour. He erratically cuts his own hair, begins questioning what it means to be human, repeatedly goes missing and comes back from school with unexplained bruises and a bloody nose. His widowed mother, Saori (Sakura Ando) feels overwhelmed with worry. Keen to discover the truth, her investigations lead her to believe he’s been unfairly treated, perhaps even physically abused, by his teacher, Mr. Hori (Eita Nagayama). After an unsettling confrontation with a stony faced and unsympathetic school principal, Saori is only left with more questions than answers. 

Depicted in a fragmentary, Rashomon-esque structure, the story’s narrative slowly falls into place as we bare witness to each character’s perspective in this murky, atmospheric psychological thriller. Hirokazu Kore-eda once again tackles a complex web of interconnected relationships, director of films such as Broker and Shoplifters, he’s a practiced hand at manipulating his audience with unreliable accounts and by withholding key information. Punctuated with the terse yet beautiful soundtrack by the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, there is a persistent melancholy that lingers in each frame, suggesting there is always more than meets the eye.

In this cyclical tale, events continuously repeat and we revisit central moments again and again, seeing things through another character’s eyes, only to discover not everything is as it seems. It soon becomes clear that Mr. Hori isn’t a violent teacher, in fact he’s well-meaning, kind and considerate. From his perspective Minato is a bully, targeting the smaller and younger class outcast, Yori (Hinata Hiiragi), who draws unwanted attention to himself with his eccentric behaviour. The boys seem to be fighting, yet is there a darker motive at play? Monsters lurk in the shadows, and an air of uncertainty leaves you guessing who is to blame for the terrible events taking place. Until finally everything is thrown into question once more when we’re shown the perspective of the boys themselves, and the truth behind their relationship is fully revealed.

Monster’s quiet and tense tone can be captivating, as the suspense builds and you slowly piece together the unnerving truth. Only once those separate tales have been told and the full picture becomes clear do you begin to realise that there are certain glaring inconsistencies. One such example is the lie Minato spins about his teacher Mr. Hori. He seems to intentionally allow a misunderstanding to take place, leading to Mr. Hori being seen as abusive and violent, and triggering a series of tragic events in the teacher’s life as a result. He’s soon ostracized by the local community, abandoned by his partner and driven to the point of contemplating suicide. However, the motivation for Minato’s decision to allow this misunderstanding to happen is never fully established and seems to be contradicted by the positive and wholesome relationship he has with Mr. Hori at school. Several such inconsistencies appear throughout the film to the point where it feels as if the script demands a misunderstanding to take place without providing a suitable justification for it to occur.

Ultimately Monster is a flawed but well-meaning attempt at exploring complex relationships, the uncertainties of youth, friendships and love, alongside the destructive consequences of a community descending into rumour and hearsay. While certain performances, particularly Soya Kurasawa as Minato and Hinata Hiiragi as Yori, elevate the film, the script fails to provide suitable answers to crucial plot points. As a result the drama often feels forced and inorganic, failing to deliver a cohesive and satisfying narrative.

Monster is now showing at Broadway.