So much has been said about this film - most of it very positive. For those who love films with little plot or character development, this film is for them. It is about loneliness and isolation. It is also very slowly paced. Pretension also comes to my mind because we, the viewer, are asked to accept significant illogical plot points presumably because it seems artful to do so. Come on. We are asked to believe a very attractive, stylish young woman would, after a few dates, agree to marry a much older, lonely man who apparently does not have much personality. If the reason she does is because he can provide for her all the designer clothes she could buy, she must surely be a very superficial person. Yet, these two apparently find marital bliss although her clothes closet gets bigger and bigger to the point a whole room has to be taken over to accommodate her lack of control. Uh, really!!! Not once is addressed addiction as a serious personality disorder. Rather we are asked to find beauty in that somehow these two mismatched characters with serious problems are happy except for that elephant (or should I say clothes horse) in the middle of the room. I am perhaps viewing this film from too literal a viewpoint yet I came away thinking that I have been snookered. The photography is impressive as are the performances. Too bad the film is like a fortune cookie. Not much food value with a message no one takes seriously.
Review of Tony Takitani
