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Sound of Freedom (2023)
Sound of Evil
Sound of Freedom is based on the true story of Tim Ballard's life and his mission to rescue children sold as sex slaves. It is well written and directed by Alejandro Monteverde, taking you on an emotional journey of suspense, sorrow and triumph. Sound of Freedom is a very powerful story that is masterfully filmed, capturing the contrast between the poor and the rich with spectacular visuals of luxurious mansions and island settings that are prison hellholes for their victims. Yet the irony is that we see the filth that resides in the ruthless, lustful hearts of the rich.
It's difficult to understand the evil inside someone who allows their lust to override their conscience as they rape screaming children, some toddlers, over and over again without a thought to the torment they are inflicting on these innocent souls.
Jim Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, who worked as an undercover special agent for the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, targeting child predators and traffickers. When Tim was asked by his colleague, who could no longer stand the stress of the job, how many paedophiles he had arrested compared to how many children he had rescued, he decided to quit his job and start rescuing children, starting with Rocio, who was taken into the depth of the Colombian jungle. Tim pleads with his boss to let him go to Colombia to rescue Rocio, saying:
'This job tears you to pieces, and this is my one chance to put those pieces back together.'
Jim Caviezel is known for his captivating, emotive performances, and he does not disappoint in Sound of Freedom. One of his powerful lines is: 'God's children are not for sale.' Other cast include Mira Sorvino, as Tim's wife; Bill Camp, as Vampiro, who teams up with Tim to rescue the children, saying,
'When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate.'
Young Cristal Aparicio, who plays Rocio and has the face of an angel, will capture your heart, as does Lucas Avila, who plays her baby brother, Miguel.
Each of the actors gave a brilliant performance. This film has had huge success at the box office for good reason. It is fast-paced and chilling as it shines a light on the horrors of sex slavery and the lives it destroys for the sake of profit.
Sound of Freedom will touch your heart and stay in your mind forever. Let's pray that all those involved in causing such misery to children are brought to justice and repent of this evil. Without clients, this despicable business would stop.
Jim Caviezel's message at the end of the credits is worth waiting for as it's a call to action to spread awareness and hopefully spring people into action in whatever way they can to stop this horrendous act against humanity.
Joy (2015)
Joy has it's flaws but still a winner
Joy is based on Joy Mangano who invented the self-wringing mop. It's a story about family rivalry; control; making mistakes; learning about business; perseverance and sheer determination to not give up on something you believe in. Joy's dysfunctional family may drive you crazy but they play a major role in her failures and ultimate success. From a young age, Joy was inventing things. Her grandmother, Mimi saw her potential and encouraged her to dream of better things. She believed in her more than Joy believed in herself after the stresses of life got the better of her. She gave up her dreams and inventions until her father lands on her doorstep after his third wife dumps him. Joy is already housing her reclusive mother, who spends her time watching soap operas and her ex husband who is living in the basement, which he now has to share with his father-in-law. They all hate each other with the exception of Mimi who does her best to help Joy keep the peace. Joy is broke and working in a job she hates. It couldn't get any worse, but it does.
Jennifer Lawrence did a stellar job of drawing me into the story, despite the script being a mess of contradictions. David O'Russell is credited for the screenplay and Annie Mumolo for the story. Together, you would expect to have a more polished script. The fact that the story is narrated by Joy's grandmother, who dies halfway through the story is questionable. Having the film begin with a soap opera may have been an attempt to portray Joy's life resembling a soap opera but I felt it was the main flaw in the script. The soap opera scenes were too disruptive to the flow of the story and came across as ridiculous. The opening soap opera scene would have been enough to get the point across, for the more analytical viewer, of how it fits into the story line.
There are a lot of things in the script that don't make sense. For example, who in their right mind would wring a mop with their bare hands after mopping up shattered glass? Why is Joy's character Valedictorian of her school and then portrayed in the film as an incompetent pushover? I also questioned why you wouldn't demonstrate how your mop works to a sales person after you've invested over $200,000 in manufacturing costs?
Peggy's personality appeared too polished for someone who had spent the last ten years running her father's run down garage. To distinguish her personality against Joy, who had been Valedictorian in high school, I would have cast Peggy as someone who was a little rougher around the edges.
Joy is stated as having been given the opportunity to attend a prestigious college but instead she stayed at home to help her parents through their divorce and help her father with his business. The scene however of when Joy's father bursts into the room to announce that Peggy is going to live with him and he will come for Joy every second weekend depicts Joy and Peggy as a young girls. It doesn't match up to the 'eighteen miserable years' he states to have been with Joy's mother.
There have been mixed feelings about Joy but it's on my favourites list because I love true stories where the underdog overcomes obstacles. Casting Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Diane Ladd will ensure some satisfaction in watching this quirky story unfold.
Step Up Revolution (2012)
The Latino Mob tops the charts!
You'll want to get yourself mobbed by The Mob after watching this fast paced dynamic flick. It's creative brilliance at its best. Credit goes to director, Scott Speer whose vision to create a visually spectacular dance film with heart and soul was realised far beyond what I might have imagined. Set in Miami, it sizzles with Latino spice. The storyline is straight from the cookie cutter of poor boy, Sean (Ryan Guzman) meets rich girl, Emily (Kathryn McCormick), they fall in love at first sight. Rich girl's father (Peter Gallagher) is a mega property developer who is about to tear down the poor boy's Latino neighbourhood in the name of progress and beautification of what he refers to as a slum. Sound familiar? Yes, but the story is so well put together visually and creatively that the ride is smooth and very pleasing to the eye. Take the movie for what it is – pure entertainment – and leave the rest behind because no one is going to believe that a group of poor street dancers would have the funds or resources to put together such masterful dance routines, let alone conduct them in high security buildings during VIP events.
The Mob is the name for the group of street dancers, lead by Guzman, who mob public areas in an attempt to get noticed and win $100K for getting 10 million hits on You Tube. They come up with spectacular dance routines that leave the public breathless, regardless of the intrusion. These guys take street dancing to a whole new level of professionalism with such a mix of dance styles and some parkour thrown in for extra spice. The sheer hard work, dedication and heart and soul that each dancer puts into their performance is what makes this movie a pleasure to watch. Youth honouring the art of dance and going for something by working hard at it.
It's disappointing though, that teenagers are so often portrayed as rebellious law breakers. The Mob hack into security systems, turn up uninvited to VIP social events, turn a fancy restaurant into a burlesque show, and cause traffic chaos, all in order to get noticed but at the risk of getting arrested. A far cry from being positive role models. Was the lesson learnt when they did end up getting arrested? You'll have to watch to find out.
The creative team behind the scenes are innovative, creative geniuses. Every dance routine was pure magic, with each one so unique and well thought out that I couldn't wait to see what they would come up with next. The opening scene of a Miami traffic jam gave jam a whole new meaning. If only people would get out of their cars and dance like that, instead of wanting to pound someone's head in, whenever they were stuck in traffic, the world would be a whole lot more colourful. The choreography was perfection and the passion of each dancer was apparent in their every move.
Screenwriter, Amanda Brody did a good job of using twists here and there to make the script less predictable, and it was refreshing to have youth putting all their energy into something that eventually benefited the community, rather than just getting noticed for the sake of a chance for fame and fortune.
Guzman and McCormick were obviously cast for their brilliant dance performances, rather than their acting ability. They are certainly beautiful to watch but as for chemistry between them, the flame was only simmering. Their performances as lovers lacked emotion – an actor's eyes are a dead give-away. They seemed more like friends than lovers. The love affair was more with their dancing than with each other. All up though, everyone in this film is a star. I admired and appreciated the hard work that went into making it, and it was obvious that everyone involved loved every minute of it. I rate my films with top marks if they are films that I want to see over and over. I saw the 3D version which was out of this world. There's nothing like having a hot Latino body jump out at you from the screen! Go see it and let your mundane world melt away for 99 minutes of high energy entertainment.
Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
One hell of a fight!
The film starts with the raid of a Sudanese village by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). A young boy watches his father being shot dead and is then forced to kill his mother by clubbing her over the head. We are then taken back a few years earlier, to the other side of the world, in the United States. Sam Childers is being released from prison to wreak his own havoc on the community and his family. The first thing he does is fly into a rage when his wife tells him that she's following Jesus and refuses to work as a stripper any more. He storms out of their trailer-park home and gets totally wasted on drugs and alcohol, slipping right back into his violent lifestyle. He gets what he wants the same way as the LRA, by raiding homes with a gun in his hand and hate in his heart.
They say the power of prayer is powerful. No doubt the prayers of his wife, mother and daughter bring him to a point of desperation after he repeatedly stabs a hitchhiker, throws him out of the car into snow and leaves him for dead. Back at home, as he washes the blood from his hands, his wife walks in and sees his broken state as he pleads for her to help him.
At that point, Sam's life is transformed. He cleans up his act, is baptised and sets up a building business to look after his family. Another major turning point in his life comes after he volunteers to go to Uganda to build homes for a Christian mission. He asks to be taken to Sudan to see first-hand the state of this war-torn country. The evil he experienced in the United States paled in comparison to what he faced in Sudan. The senseless annihilation of tribal races by the LRA did not only affect adults, but left children abandoned, tortured, sold into sex slavery, and murdered on a daily basis. These unimaginable horrors are enough to shake anyone to the core. Protecting these children became Sam's personal mission. He fights the only way he knows how – with a gun in his hand.
Marc Forster made every frame count. Every shot has meaning and there are layers that go beyond, such as a Christian fighting the LRA. There is nothing that is far-fetched. It's as real as you can get. We watch Sam fight his demons through his amazing journey. We watch him struggle to make sense of why God would allow these precious children to suffer. He loses focus of his mission as the balance of love and hate are tilted towards hate with the growing anger and frustration he feels in a seemingly unwinnable war. His anger becomes fuelled at everyone and he becomes a dangerous missile, alienating himself from his team of Freedom Fighters who no longer see him as a safe leader. It's the words of a little boy that brings him back into balance as he tells Sam that 'they can take everything away from you – but they can't take your heart.' – unless you let them.
Gerard Butler gives an outstanding performance. He communicates powerfully so that we feel what he feels whether we agree with him or not. He has taken on a mission that has no ending. If he stops protecting these children, they will perish. And to add to the burden, more and more children are found hiding in the bush. There is no happily ever after tied in to this film, it continues, just as life does.
Michelle Monaghan as Sam's wife, and Michael Shannon as Sam's lifelong friend also gave excellent performances. To Forster's credit, he was spot on with his casting and his vision for telling this story was perfection. It was a difficult film to watch as we don't want to believe such evil exists, but I highly recommend it. This story has the power to change lives.
The Artist (2011)
Très artistiques!
A refreshing film so beautifully made that it's easy to be enchanted by its simplicity. You may wrinkle your nose up and be tempted to give up on it when you realise that it's a silent film depicting the era when silent films were being replaced by 'talkies'. But I encourage you to persist in watching this magic unfold with beautiful imagery that has been skilfully crafted by a talented crew. French director, Michel Hazanavicius's vision was explicitly carried out with exquisite costumes, sets, and impressive cinematography by Guillaume Schiffman. My favourite shot was when Valentin pours his drink over the glass table. Such creativity.
The story is simple yet captivating – enriched by fine acting from Jean Dujardin who won an academy award for Best Actor, and Bérénice Bejo, nominated for an academy award. I have to give special mention to Uggie, Valentin's dog, who no doubt stole many hearts as the unsung hero in the film. Dujardin plays the role of George Valentin, mega star of silent pictures who is mercilessly dumped by the studio head, Al Zimmer, played by John Goodman, when 'talkies' become the next 'hot ticket'. By this time, Peppy Miller, played by Bejo has risen to fame, from an extra to a leading lady, with the help of Valentin.
The film is not just about the end of silent films, and the end of an actor's career, but about loyalty, pride, change, despair, triumph and tragedy, and finding hope through love. That is what brings colour to this beautiful black and white film. It also honours the beautiful architecture, costumes, fashion, cars, and elegance of an era long gone. It is ironic that this film has won so much acclaim in this modern world we live in, where the old is tossed aside, as Valentin was, only to be revived by someone who cared enough to see the value of showing the newer generations the evolution of technology and the stability of human love, (let's not forget the loyalty of man's best friend). Our world is so noisy and busy that it takes a little while to adjust to the film's lack of dialogue. The importance of music is clearly apparent in helping the film to flow as there was a moment where there was no sound whatsoever and it stuck out like a sore thumb. It's strange how complete silence can make us feel abnormal.
It is also a lesson to scriptwriters, that copious dialogue does not enhance a film and is completely unnecessary. Skilled actors can tell a story with expressions and body language. The Artist is a pleasant surprise and another gem to be added to the collection of classic films. I encourage you to watch it, after all, it was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won five, including Best Picture, and Best Director.
The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
Deep Blue depression
This film may appeal to those who are familiar with the era and would appreciate the imagery, soundtrack, and emotional layers depicted in the film. Others will find it quite dull and depressing. Rachel Weisz plays Lady Hester whose soul can be felt screaming under her forced composure. Married to Sir William Collyer, a British judge played by Simon Russell Beale, she appears to find her life, based on etiquette and social acceptance unbearable. Deciding that it is better to live a life of passion, than one of controlled feelings and monotony that weigh her soul daily, she proceeds to have an affair with an ex-Royal Air Force pilot by the name of Freddie played by Tom Hiddleston. The contrast between her composed husband and Freddie who appears infantile, irresponsible and completely selfish is extreme. There is no explanation for why she is childless, although William asks her whether it would have made any difference to her lack of happiness had they had a child. There are many unanswered questions, the most intriguing one being; Which is more unbearable – to live a life feeling nothing, or to experience the exhilaration of love, then suffer the depths of pain caused by the lover who steals your dignity? Ironically, Hester's landlady who is caring for her elderly father tells her that real love is changing the soiled underwear of someone who is helpless and still allowing them to keep their dignity. Love is about putting the other person's feelings above your own; something that Hester's lover refuses to do. William, deeply hurt by the affair states that he never wants to see Hester again. However ten months later when he hears about Hester's attempted suicide, immediately comes to her aid showing her that his deep love for her remains.
Having felt nothing for most of her life, Hester's passionate affair becomes so overwhelming that she spends the majority of her time constantly trying to balance her feelings. When she feels nothing it scares her so she acts in irrational ways, running into the subway just as a speeding train blasts past her. Then when she feels too much and cannot cope with the pain, she attempts suicide. She allows herself to be publicly humiliated by her lover, because it feels better than being ignored.
For the viewer, her roller coaster ride plays in slow motion and in some parts becomes mind-numbingly slow. The flashbacks and imagery are confusing; an example being when Hester runs into the subway. The tension is broken by strange dream-like imagery of a crowd of people laying about the subway, which makes little sense.
The film may have been set in the 1950s but there's no excuse for the simulation of cataracts that made the entire film annoyingly blurry. To add to the dullness, it was set in wintery doom and gloom. The streets still in disarray from the Blitz are as lifeless as the characters. Terence Davies lacks creativity when the best he can do is devoid the film of colour, including having everyone dressed in the same drab garb except for Hester who gets to wear the scarlet coat.
Shutter Island (2010)
No Tropical Paradise!
Leonardo Di Caprio is one of my favourite actors. His performances are flawless and enthralling. I know I'm going to see something special when I watch him perform. He is a fearless actor who makes a difficult craft look simple. He has heart and soul. He's the real deal as far as I'm concerned. Shutter Island is a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing right to the end. It's cleverly directed by Martin Scorsese. The script adapted by Laeta Kalogridis is from Dennis Lehane's novel. The story is set in 1954 on a remote, harsh island. There's nothing tropical and relaxing about this island. It is surrounded by craggy rocks, far from the mainland. The only way onto the island is by ferry. Those who are sent to the island never leave. They are the criminally insane. The most violent, and twisted men and women who are locked up, chained, drugged and experimented on.
US Marshall Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck are sent to the island to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients who escaped and is believed to be hiding somewhere on the island. Her disappearance is a mystery and a search begins that reveals some shocking truths of what is really happening on this unforgiving, dangerous island where no one can be trusted.
I can highly recommend it as a very well written and directed film with excellent acting performances all round. Ben Kingsley plays psychologist, Dr. Cawley, Mark Ruffalo plays Chuck and Michelle Williams plays Dolores.
La piel que habito (2011)
Warped and degrading
This film can best be described as a psychological thriller based on the criminally insane. The Skin I Live In is disturbing on many levels and one has to wonder about the moral ethics of our society. There is a bestiality about the characters in this film that makes the film depressing. You watch in horror with no sense of hope throughout the film. The damage done is irreversible and frightening.
Antonio Banderas plays Robert Ledgard, a surgeon who takes a matter of revenge into his own hands and proceeds to use a human as a guinea pig to advance his research. It is not clear whether the film is about revenge for a crime committed against Ledgard's daughter, or about scientific research prompted by the horrific accident suffered by Ledgard's wife. The combination is utter madness and quite bizarre. Banderas is a fine piece of eye candy and a major selling point for this film, but in my opinion is miscast as the evil surgeon. He attempts to be emotionless and cold, however, there is a warmth about him as a human being that makes it difficult for the audience to hate him. Had another actor, such as a Spanish version of John Malkovich been cast in his role, I'm sure there would have been a higher level of emotion expressed by the audience towards this evil character.
Elena Anaya is magic to watch as Vera Cruz. She works each scene to her advantage, mesmerising the audience with her beauty. Considering the mental state of the characters depicted in this film, the fact that she is able to remain so poised and calm in the diabolical situation she is imprisoned in, makes her character unbelievable. Not even a hint of madness. Surely the practice of yoga that she embraces to help her cope is not that powerful, especially for a novice.
The Skin I Live In is masterfully directed by Pedro Almodóvar, Spain's most internationally acclaimed director. The story is an unnecessarily complex one with enough twists and turns to make your head spin. The loose ends are neatly tied together, unfortunately with predictability and the ending is too simplistic and convenient. A simpler storyline could have worked better and made the story more believable, and easier to digest. Eliminating unnecessary characters and subplots and having Vera raped by Robert would have had a bigger effect on the audience's feelings towards Robert. Having Robert's work colleague, Zeca begin to investigate Robert's illegal research at the beginning of the film would have created more tension throughout the movie, rather than have him appear towards the end of the film with his allegations, and then have the film end shortly after.
The blending of two characters was completely unconvincing but the idea of the story was intriguing, and as I mentioned before, very disturbing. There is little explanation as to the insanity of Robert's daughter. She appears as a puppet in the film to serve a purpose and then is conveniently disposed of. Too much tragedy makes a heart grow cold. It's not a film you would want to watch again.
All up, the film kept you squirming in your seat and although not a pleasant experience to watch, it certainly was different.
The Whistleblower (2010)
Brilliantly disturbing
Rachel Weisz is brilliant as Kathryn, a US cop whose dedication and commitment to her job results in her losing custody of her daughter. She is offered a high paying 6 month post working for the UN in Bosnia which changes the course of her life. She is the only woman on the force working amongst hard-nosed men who have little regard for women. Her excellent work protecting the rights of Muslim women is noticed by Madeline, played by Vanessa Redgrave, who offers Kathryn a promotion to Head of Department.
Kathryn's bull-headed determination to investigate, what appears to be, discrepancies with how cases are handled begins to create tension with her colleagues. It isn't long before things begin to unravel when Kathryn discovers that the girls from a local bar are part of a human trafficking business. The girls, held against their will are brutally beaten, drugged and tortured. What Kathryn uncovers puts her life in danger and has huge international implications for the persecution of high officials employed as peacekeepers.
The film is action packed from start to finish and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The brutality is severe, making the facts that this is also a reality for 2.5million victims of human trafficking difficult to conceive and devastating to accept. The atmosphere created by the bleak and colourless location accurately reflects the lives of those trapped in its existence.
Rachel Weisz's performance is exceptional. Her eyes speak volumes. The viewer is swept along Kathryn's journey at such a rapid pace that it is easy to be caught up in Kathryn's frustration, and the compassion she feels for the young girls whose fear of the brutal treatment by their captors outweighs their courage to try to escape.
It is a disturbing and stressful film to watch because of the truth of the facts. It is brilliantly written and directed by Larysa Kondracki. The film is an amazing achievement as her directorial debut. Also of high standard is the cinematography work of Kieran McGuigan, and brilliant editing by Julian Clarke. It is a film worth seeing and one that will be etched in your mind permanently. There are many reasons to see this film, the most important is for the awareness it brings to human trafficking and the exposure of the people who are paid to protect. If youth won't listen to the advice of their parents, they may pay attention to what happens in this film.
Attack the Block (2011)
Keep one eye open!
Set in the shady streets of London, Sam, a young nurse played by Jodie Whittaker is walking home after dark when she is surrounded by thugs who mug her and push her to the ground. The thugs are a street gang of bored teens, looking for some action, and lead by the hardened Moses who lives with his often absent Uncle.
As the thugs are harassing Sam, an alien falls from the sky and smashes into a car. Sam makes a run for it as Moses takes the opportunity to raid the car for goods. What he finds instead is an alien that rips into his face sending him into a rampage to kill the beast. Successful, they drag the beast through the streets and into the apartment of the local drug dealer, the same apartment that Sam happens to live in. Although the storyline is weak, and there are too many characters to make sense of where they fit in, the point of the film is that Moses' gang go from terrorising anyone on their block that they think shouldn't be there, to having to defend their block from aliens. The hunters become the hunted as the aliens seek revenge for the death of their female counterpart. Anyone who has come in contact with the slain alien wears its scent and is a target for the hairy bear-sized alien beasts with their fluro-green razor sharp teeth. They have no eyes, tracking down their victims by scent. One by one the gang members and drug dealers are ripped to pieces as the beasts search for the female carcass. Watching each member have their throat ripped out or their head crushed and mutilated escalates the tension as more and more aliens drop from the sky and surround the block.
Moses, played by John Boyega takes command of the screen and is well cast as the angry, restless gang leader. His performance is natural and convincing. He is well supported by Alex Esmail, who plays Pest, and Luke Treadaway who plays Brewis, the drugged out teen, whose connection in the plot of the story is unclear. His sole purpose seems to be to provide comic relief which is well married with the growing tension the shrieking aliens create throughout the film.
The film is well directed, set in darkness and the confines of a sterile, low class apartment block. The stand out scene is watching Moses, with the female carcass strapped to his back, run from the pack of beasts who are snapping at his heels. The scene is in slow motion through the corridors of the apartment and surreally created with a spot-on soundtrack.
Attack the Block will keep you entertained visually. Don't expect to understand the London babble shooting out of potty mouths at a hundred miles an hour. There are snippets of funny quotes well delivered by some fine young actors. Watch it if you're tough!
Noruwei no mori (2010)
Complex and frustrating
Norwegian Wood is hauntingly poignant. What saves it from being a completely depressing film are the beautiful actors. The love triangle between Rinko Kikuchi (award winner for Babel) who plays Naoko, Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Toru Watanabe, and Kiko Mizuhara's film debut as Midori is complicated to say the least.
The film is set in Tokyo in 1967 amidst the contrast of rioting students, and students involved in recreational activities dressed in pristine creaseless white shirts, possibly depicting innocence and purity. This image is quickly shattered by the unexplained suicide of young Kizuki, Naoko's soul mate since they were three years old.
Visually, the film appears dreamlike as if the lens is masked with a filter with some scenes more blurred than others. The nature scenes, however, appear clear and precise, such as the water droplets on a leaf. The story revolves around the seasons beginning with the spring rains and progressing through to the bitter end of winter, and returning back to spring and new beginnings.
I felt that the character's emotions were always at a level of depression or sadness so that when tragedy struck it was difficult for the viewer's emotions to climax and feel the anguish of the character because the viewer is strung along on this depressive ride without relief for so long that any feelings of sympathy for the characters are simply burnt out. It also makes the outcome predictable defusing any surprise or shock that may have occurred had the characters experienced a change in level of emotion.
Toru's character lacks strength and vitality making him appear wimpy and submissive. He trails behind Naoko like an obedient puppy as she marches forcefully ahead of him in a bizarre ritual that appears as non verbal ranting. Midori holds the same power over him as she tells him what she expects a man to do to prove his love for her, basically saying that a man needs to be at her beck and call. Toru seems to be at everyone's beck and call as he succumbs to his roommate, Nagasawa's suggestion to find girls to sleep with during their drunken weekends. He sleeps with Naoko when she asks him to on her 20th birthday and he sleeps with Naoko's minder, Reiko, when Reiko tells him, 'It has to be done.' This is after he tells Midori that he considers himself an honest man and that he loves Naoko but will commit to Midori once he frees himself from his responsibility. The web of lies continues as he tells Naoko, when she questions him about whether he is seeing someone else in Tokyo, that he isn't.
Norwegian Wood apparently is the polite term for 'cheap wood' which may explain the disposability of morals. It also ties in with the Beatles song whose lyrics tie in with the girl using the boy and explains why Naoko breaks down crying when the song is sung by her minder, Reiko. I don't know if I can agree to Norwegian Wood being a love story because there seems to be confusion of what love is by all the characters. Toru seems convinced that he deeply loves Naoko even though deep down he wonders whether she is just using him to try to figure out her sexual frustrations and dismiss the guilt she seems to feel over the suicide of her first love Kizuki. Did he commit suicide because of the sexual frustrations he experienced with Naoko? Viewers are left wondering.
The story seems more about lust than love. It could have been cut by at least 45 minutes as the emotional drain was becoming unbearable. Because the film is an adaptation of a book based on the emotional journeys of three young inexperienced people, it would be impossible for the film to fully explain the feelings of these characters. Midori did not appear the confident girl, she simply was not mourning a devastating loss. She was every bit as vulnerable, insecure and broken as a teenager transitioning into her twenties.
As far as performances, Rinko Kikuchi far outweighed newcomer Kiko Mizuhara in her debut role as Midori. It was obvious that Kiko was chosen for her looks as her performance was bland and unconvincing. She is without a doubt irresistibly cute but lacks the acting skills to pull off the complex performance required for this story. Ken'ichi Matsuyama did little to impress. His final emotional breakdown seemed forced and drawn out and didn't quite evoke the desired result that could have won the audience over. His passive nature made him quite the bore well depicted at the beginning of the film when he took to reading books to deal with his grief.
There is no doubt that director, Tran Anh Hung created some beautiful moments in the film. The task of recreating what appears to be a very complex story is a credit to him. The Beatle's song, Norwegian Wood is the glue that holds the film together and about the only thing that sticks to your mind long after you've left the cinema.