I don’t know how it works in Japan, but in the United States, the procedural drama Killing for the Prosecution encounters two immediate –and fatal- problems. Ironic that a film with “Killing” in the title has fatal problems, huh? I digress. The two big problems are simple: 1) Americans are already inundated with crime procedurals; the subject matter is hardly new and near impossible to achieve shock value. 2) More importantly, Killing for the Prosecution brings nothing to the table.
I cannot stress #2 enough: We’re at a movie theater. We paid money directly for this entertainment. This wasn’t a package or a service. We’re here exactly for this film, hence, the film itself has to provide us with something we cannot get from turning on the TV and raising the antenna. Sex, gore, dialogue, stardom, CGI, action, philosophy, something. Something has got to be a reason why we are here and not at home. Killing for the Prosecution did not deliver that something. Actually, I’m told Takuya Kimura is a superstar in Japan – so, ok, Japan has a reason. People from the United States do not.
Keiichiro Okino (Kazunari Ninomiya) is a rookie in the DA’s office trying to make a name for himself. We get to see veteran prosecutor Takeshi Mogami (Kimura) take the rookie under his wing for at least five seconds before Okino gets to go play good-cop/bad-cop by himself. A lot of this film is dragging shady old dudes into really nice interrogation rooms while Okino performs his Jekyll/Hyde community theater routine on them. There’s usually a woman in the room, but acting only as witness. Oh, sure, she also has a prosecuting career, we think, but her movie will have to wait for the next episode.
The Killing plot focuses around a long stale case where justice may or may not have been served and so the kid gets to play interrogation games with two ancient witnesses (?) villains (?) Who can say? That’s the mystery. There’s a lot of talking and not enough doing in this film, y’know? And just like the film, this review has also gotten too wordy and not fun. Perhaps if you’re a Japanese DA looking to solve a dead case (do they have those in Japan?), there’s a tidbit here for you to use. Otherwise, Killing for the Prosecution is psychological acting at its workshoppiest.
Police procedurals are constantly rife
With all criminals struggling for life
Yet here’s a clue
Just like Ginsu
In Japan, the damned is used for the strife
Not Rated, 123 Minutes
Director: Masato Harada
Writer: Masato Hamada
Genre: Interrogation 101
Person most likely to enjoy this film: Prosecutors looking for tips
Person least likely to enjoy the film: The easily bored
