Last Updated on January 24, 2021 by rob
Wealthy university graduate Naomi (Hiroko Yakoshimaru) discovers that her absent father has hired a private detective named Shuichi (Yusaku Matsuda) to keep an eye on her. But when Shuichi’s estranged wife becomes the chief suspect in the murder of a Yakuza employee the irrepressible Naomi throws herself into solving the case whilst wrestling with her increasingly affectionate feelings toward her exasperated minder.
An effectively crafted romance/locked room murder mystery with Yakoshima’s spunky, excitable heroine an engaging foil for Matsuda’s buttoned down, emotionally repressed ‘tec. Both characters have their personal problems (Shuichi with his ex-wife, Naomi with her burgeoning sexual feelings and a ‘should she-shouldn’t she-lose-her-virginity’ sub-plot) and the film makes us wait a long time for the kiss between them that we know is coming but wisely employs it as the seal on a mutual friendship rather than the lead in to an exploitative sex scene. I also found it appealing that the thrust of the murder investigation is a howdunnit rather than a whodunnit with the solution simple but effective (and discovered by Naomi rather than Shuichi) and a pivotal clue to the killer’s identity handled with subtlety by director Negishi who trusts his audience to have been paying attention without the need to hammer them with heavy-handed flashbacks. All in all a civilised treat (and the ending, with the feel of the principal characters emerging from their adventure ready to resume their normal lives, is especially pleasing) and the kind of modest, character-driven genre entry Hollywood no longer cares to make.
