In Japan, there is a deliciously rabid exploration of the occult which Hollywood frequently shuns. For example, remakes of Japanese Horror moneymakers The Ring/Ringu and Dark Water were vilely diluted. So when Japanese filmmakers set out to bring the beloved manga Death Note to the live action platform, you know it’s going to get weird.

First off, the cover is intriguing, slick and modern, pitting black against white, good versus evil. But who is the evil one?

Tatsuya Fujiwara, heroic and angelic in Battle Royale and the TV version of Shinsengumi sampled being a bad boy when he went 180° in Battle Royale II and maybe he liked it. In Death Note, the smooth-skinned sweetheart perfectly portrays Light Yagami (pictured below right), a law student consumed by (seemingly absent) justice, who quickly distorts personal ethics with brutal societal vigilantism. One rainy evening he finds the Death Note (or rather the Death note finds him), a notebook with implicit instructions alerting the owner of its power. Simply scribble a name in the book and that person immediately croaks. Here’s Light’s chance for justice! Light begins filling the Death Note with convicted criminals, showing neither restraint nor remorse. Soon, a tremendous surge of supporters rally around his persona, even though they call his anonymous supernatural presence “Kira” (phonetic for “killer”). Light/Kira is seemingly unstoppable until a mysterious master youth detective nicknamed “L” surfaces.

L (Kenichi Matsuyama - Nana, Linda Linda Linda, A Taste of Tea) is a refreshing enigma in this dark yarn. Terminally slouchy with an Edward Scissorhands’ pout, L (pictured below left) is an independently wealthy 20-something with an insatiable sweet tooth, which enforces the character’s straddling of child- and adulthood. His constant uniform is a baggy white long-sleeved thermal, jeans, bare feet. He doesn’t grasp objects securely in his palm, he pinches them between his thumb and forefinger; even answering cellphones in this foppish manner. As for furniture, he’d rather perch like a bird, squatting rather than sitting. Physically, L is like a cross between Jared Leto and Donny Darko, dark piece-y locks shuffled into his kohl-rimmed peepers, social interactions spent peeking through his bangs. I love how stylized this character is and am eventually drawn to his eccentricities. Apparently I’m not the only one; there has been an explosion of fansites for he appeals to both gals and guys (perhaps due to his oral fixation) and just recently a sequel spin off solely for L (directed by Ringu’s Hideo Nakata) has been announced. Woohoo!

Another intriguing character isn’t even human at all. Ryuk the death god (shinigami) is the one responsible for all of this chaos for he is the one who dropped the Death Note in front of Light. Get ready for some incredible CG effects as mischievous Ryuk spreads his bony wings and cracks a piranha grin and you’ll swear it was a life-sized puppet. Sinisterly voiced by Shido Nakamura (Lieutenant Ito in Letters from Iwo Jima, The Neighbor 13), you are never sure if Ryuk is for or against humanity. The only thing you can be sure of is that he is insane about apples.

Ironically, as Light gathers more power as he manipulates the Death Note to his advantage (he later controls when and how people die with detailed abstracts), the police team on assignment dwindles. Also ironically, their leader is Light’s father with Light the prime suspect.

A slightly lackadaisical linear storyline struggles to build suspense while proving Light’s dismissal of human life. Unfortunately you have to wait through a lot of dramatic pans and extreme zooms, but it’s worth it for Fujiwara’s performance as he amazingly harnesses a gamut of emotions. Thankfully, the strength in this story lies not necessarily in the storyline, but the characters.

Death Note is just strange enough to entice those unfamiliar with the manga series and bland enough to keep the fans yearning for more. It is definitely a set up for the sequel Death Note: The Last Name.

Oddest note: the credits roll song is the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Dani California which has no connection whatsoever, but hey it’s catchy.

About the Author

dreamlogic.net -- KRIS KOBAYASHI-NELSON

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson says these directors/screenwriters rarely disappoint: Peter Greenaway, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Gregg Araki. Kris claims that Jake Gyllenhaal, Cillian Murphy, Desmond Harrington and Casey Affleck are much more than pretty faces.