Review: 2LDK

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

2LDK
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
DUEL Film Partners; Micott; Times In; Office Crescendo; Unearthed Films; MVD Entertainment
70 minutes, 2003 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com  

I am pretty sure when you see the title of this Japan-made release, you might be scratching your head, unless you are into real estate. It is shorthand for 2 Bedrooms, Living room, Dining room, Kitchen. And that is where the story takes place, in a Tokyo condominium. But this Blu-ray is on the Unearthed Films label, so you know things are going to get complicated and bloody within those four walls.

Eiko Kolke, Maho Nonami

Living within those rooms are two ambitious actors: there is Nozomi (Eiko Kolke) who has a history in local theater, commercials and print modeling, and redheaded Rana (Maho Nonami), a film buff who likes expensive things, and is on the verge of a breakdown. The chief contention, for the purposes of this, is that they are both up for the same part in something called “Yakuza Wives.”

Smartly presented, we see the two women’s relationships on various levels.  First, there is the almost passive aggressive quality as they are polite to each other with little, subtle digs. But here’s where it gets interesting: we also hear their inner thoughts, and neither one of them has anything nice to say about the other. They are petty and determined, and anger is simmering as both are convinced that they are the ones who will get the part.

Yet, there is another contention between the two, and that is vying for the attention of the same man, Takuya Ezaki (Daisuke Kizaki; who does all the phone voices), who is only heard on voicemail. All the onscreen time is with just the duo of Nozomi and Rana.

Things begin to ramp up pretty early as pettiness and jealousy seep ever deeper into the psyche of the two women, as well as a dose of vanity. While Nozomi is a bit of a control freak along the lines of Felix Unger (she initials all the food, both her’s and Rana’s), and Rana is a touch schizophrenic, hearing voices and seeing horrible visions of a past event. The internal rancor that we hear in their inner monologue slowly but surely start to come out in the verbal, building the tension further. And the viewer just knows it can only get worse.

And it does. Taking place all in one night, things escalate to the extreme, with household objects being used to do damage to each other, including decorative swords called Jyuttes, a fire extinguisher, a mini-chainsaw, electrocution, and lots of fisticuffs, among others.

The level of violence goes a bit beyond reality, but is mostly relentless (with some lulls for psychotic conversations or primal screams). Both are surprising in the levels to which they will go to punish the other. Of course, this makes it all the more fun for the viewer. Neither of these women are likeable though both are beautiful, at least at the start. The O. Henry-eque ending is completely fitting for the film.

The film is well shot, employing wise moves to both keep it claustrophobic and seeming like they are as far apart as their personalities. There is even a scene where our two pro-ant-agonists are sitting at a table, and as Rana talks (and Nozomi think-comments), the camera circularly swirls around the table, a style used by Tarantino a few years later in Deathproof in 2007.

Both actors in the film are well seasoned, both before and after this film. They worked extensively in cinema, but mostly appeared – often as regulars – in numerous Japanese television mini-series over the years.  This shows in their performances here, which relies a lot on the range of keeping everything inside to exploding on the outside.

There are a ton of extras on this Blu-ray, though I’m not sure how many are new and which are older. For example, there is a full-length commentary by the two actors that was recorded two years after the filming, so that would be about 2005. It is in Japanese with subtitles. It is amusing that they both snuck out from the same film shoot to come record this commentary. The two women don’t get very deep, but what is interesting is their discussions of the likeability (or lack thereof) of their characters, and almost blow-by-blow of what was happening to them as actors playing those characters as it appears on the screen. They talk about how hard a particular move was, what the cameraman was doing, their level of the flu they had caught, etc.

“The Making of 2LDK” chronicles the 8-day shoot, which was done chronologically. This is a featurette handled professionally to be used for publicity, not just cobbled-together scenes. It is shown day-by-day, and includes interviews, behind the camera scenes of table readings and the like, and is interesting throughout. For the “Duel Production Briefing” is a video of the director talking to his production crew. For festivals, there is a “Video Message for Theatre Audiences,” “Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival Interviews,” and the “Screening at Kudan Kaikan Interviews.”

Along with a “Photo Gallery,” there is a collection of Unearthed Film trailers, including this one, and four other international releases, such as Evil Dead Trap and A Serbian Film. 

While a pretty simple storyline, the film is also a complex mixture of the physical and psychological, both focusing on Rana and Nozomi together, and individually. Rather than two trains passing in the night, they are on a single track, barreling full speed to a head-on collision. And the result is both disturbing and bloody. Right the way it should be, after all.

IMBD Listing HERE