In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Tuesday 22 May 2018

Shady (2012)

Japanese schoolgirls Izumi (Izumi Okamura) and Misa (Mimpi*β) are being bullied by the same aggressive classmate; the former girl because she's perceived as being too pretty, and the latter for being perceived as not pretty enough. Even though they're placed at opposite ends of a (subjective) scale, the common ground is enough for a strong friendship to develop.
At first it resembles a sweet coming-of-age drama and if it had continued on that path it would've been a better than average example of such, but closeness can sometimes have a less desirable side to it – a darker side that an emotionally damaged teenager may find a strange and misplaced kind of solace in. Dir. Watanabe's Shady explores that side of a relationship, too.

4 pressure points out of 5

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