Self-described gangster fairytale "She's Just A Shadow" is written and directed by Adam Sherman. The film blends elements of pulp film, crime thriller and surrealism in a orgy-jnduced blood bath of drugs, sex and death. It stars Tao Okamoto (The Man in the High Castle, “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “The Wolverine”), alongside Haruka Abe (“47 Ronin”) and Loka pop star Kihiro in his acting debut.
A beautiful Japanese madam. A deranged, drug-addled Tokyo gangster and his crew. A sadistic serial killer on the loose. The intersection of these stories, and the interior worlds of these characters, plays out against a dreamlike backdrop of ultra-violence and orgiastic sex as everyone tries futilely to rewrite their futures and cheat death. A dreamlike yet modern take on the gangster genre, SHE’S JUST A SHADOW is the action-packed story of a matriarchal crime family engaged in a vicious gang war, while a deranged killer is leaving his victims on railroad tracks all over Tokyo. The only thing more dangerous than the killer is the vicious love triangle within the family itself.
The story is a blend of traditional underground crime thriller exploration of sub-culture and more experimental risque imagery circling tropes such as sexploitation and torture porn. There is heavy influences that permeate the film, most notably Tarantino and Stahelski. The synopsis and my initial description make "She's Just A Shadow" seem like a very exciting film. And given the cinematography and set design for a lot of the scenes, this movie has some cool moments. But...there are several flaws here.
First off, the story moves so freely that there is a feeling of "lack of cohesion" that makes it hard for any of the major plot points to sink in. The foundation starts to feel weak. It is a gritty and interesting story, and the setting and subject matter are pulp fiction candy tropes. Unfortunately there seemed to be more focus creating moments of extreme sensationalized tableauxs, than creating solid story continuity. Again, there is some really cool stuff happening in "She's Just A Shadow", unfortunately it all seems disjointed and more fitting to music videos and short film, arthouse pieces.
The acting is tight, the cast do a good job bring life to these characters, there just isn't enough written here for them to go on. Most of the characters are two-dimensional, weakly written "shadows". So much so that inorder to give them substance you really need to grab on to the film's title, and near hallucinatory asthetics and hold on for dear life. Something that helps equally with watching this one is the celebratory over-the-top display of violence and gore. There is plenty of blood flowing in "She's Just A Shadow". I just don't know if there's enough going on here to satisfy most film fans. (2.5/5)
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