The Outsider (2018)What level of commitment is necessary to prove one's allegiance to a foreign way of life? The Outsider (2018) is a crime drama set in Osaka (circa 1954) about an American ex-soldier named Nick Lowell (Jared Leto) who becomes a member of the yakuza after saving the life of a fellow inmate named Kiyoshi (Tadanobu Asano). Nick is looked down upon as a gaijin--an outsider in Japan, as well as in a secret society that paradoxically considers foreign blood dishonorable. Nick is forced to prove his value to the yakuza while honoring the risk Kiyoshi took in giving him a new way of life.
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Like Nick himself, The Outsider is an atypical entry into the yakuza sub-genre of crime drama films. Yakuza films from Japan adhere to a particular aesthetic, while The Outsider shares much in common with contemporary Western gangster films, like The Departed. Directed by Martin Zandvliet, The Outsider is designed to convey Nick's Western perspective of life in Japan, where he is often at a disadvantage, initially unfamiliar with the customs and language. Color and sound are emphasized to convey Nick's emotions and the tone of a scene. When he meets Kiyoshi in a remote Osaka prison, the locale is cold and is represented in muted colors. When he is released, the bustling alleys and streets of Osaka are awash in bright oranges and purples, a vibrant neon flood that overwhelms Nick. The presentation of The Outsider is a metaphor for its protagonist; even though the film has a Western look, its themes are fundamentally Japanese, emphasizing honor, loyalty, family, respect, and sacrifice. Little of Nick's past is revealed in The Outsider, with the exception of an encounter he has with an old war buddy, Paulie (Emile Hirsch), who intimates that he has been dodging a court martial. Nick doesn't seem to fit in anywhere, and his propensity for violence suggests that this is what landed him in prison in the first place. If Paulie's dialogue with Nick is to be believed, Nick has become a far quieter and more reserved person, whose icy exterior hides a cold rage lurking beneath the surface. After Kiyoshi has Nick sprung from prison, he and his "brother", Orochi (Kippei Shiina), commission him to convince Anthony Panetti (Rory Cochrane)--a local copper supplier with a hatred for the Japanese--to sell his goods to Kiyoshi's Shiromatsu clan. Panetti unleashes a racist diatribe against the Japanese; Nick responds by pounding on his head with a typewriter, splattering blood everywhere. Despite appearing reserved and cautious, Nick often resolves his problems with sudden and brutal violence, which sometimes complicates things for the Shiromatsu patriarch, Akihiro (Min Tanaka).
The Outsider is designed to evoke sympathy for Nick's alienation, yet Nick has a shaky moral compass. When he saves Kiyoshi from being attacked, he does so for selfless reasons; yet when Kiyoshi fakes his suicide later, Nick's cooperation may be for reasons as simple as escaping the abusive prison environment himself. The overprotective Kiyoshi warns Nick not to get involved with his sister, Miyu (Shiori Kutsuna), claiming that yakuza can never become romantically involved, hoping that Nick will not question it. Despite this--and even before Kiyoshi's warning--Nick doesn't resist becoming entangled with Miyu, even modeling his Irezumi full-body tattoo depicting a koi fish after her own. When he is recognized by Paulie, Nick tries to evade him and deny any connection to his former life; yet Paulie's unfortunate lack of discretion leads him to all but blackmail Nick for coldly turning down his invitation for a drink with predictable results. (This leads to a scene similar to one from American Psycho, except that Jared Leto's role is reversed here.) Nick is so utterly consumed by his reinvention of himself that anything that might threaten his new persona must be eliminated with extreme prejudice. The Outsider recalls Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather; several scenes are even designed to recall The Godfather, including the famous climactic montage. Both movies are superficially about the intrigue and violence that comes with organized crime, but Nick is cut from the same cloth as Michael Corleone. Both men have a past in the military, and become involved in the "family" almost by chance, finding their true calling within their unlikely profession.
It is ambiguous as to whether Nick actually wishes to become a yakuza or not. His trip to the secret forest hideaway where he accepts the sake cup as a part of his ritual initiation has him initially convinced that he is being taken out into the woods to be killed. It's possible that Nick becomes a yakuza out of a debt to Kiyoshi, yet he fits into the lifestyle as though it were tailor fitted for him. Nick goes to lengths to prove that he is not without honor. Kiyoshi previously educated Nick on the ritual of yubitsume, in which a yakuza would dismember a finger to show his remorse at dishonoring his "father". After incurring the displeasure of Akihiro following a fumbled attempt to purchase arms from the departing Americans, Nick chops off the end of his little finger, only to realize that he has committed a faux pas in not handing the separated digit to Akihiro; he removes another finger without being prompted as a further act of contrition. Nick has effectively "paid double" for his error, even though he was technically under no obligation to do this--he isn't a yakuza yet, but makes the sacrifice to show his loyalty and honor to a man who he only just met. Nick's efforts to communicate with his new "family" represents his constant pursuit to become a respected and legitimate member of the yakuza. He speaks no Japanese at first, and understands little to none of the language. But by the time he has fully integrated himself into the Shiromatsu clan, he has a working knowledge of Japanese, becoming one of Akihiro's lieutenants in his war with a rival clan from Kobe, presided over by a younger patriarch named Seizu (Nao Ōmori). There is a climactic scene that is presented as an armistice in the war between Shiromatsu and the Seizu clan; Nick is in the background alongside his "brothers", all accompanying Akihiro. He is not in center of the action--he is among others like him who are committed to the clan. It is an understated shot, emphasizing that Nick has finally achieved his goal of belonging to a family, regardless of his ethnicity--even a criminal one.
Recommended for: Fans of a crime film set over a half a century ago in Japan, yet possessing a modern style and Western point-of-view. The Outsider alternates from moments of tense scheming between the two rival clans to outbursts of bloody violence, exploring what the effects of the violence and feelings of alienation have on a man seeking acceptance from a closed society.
The Outsider is designed to evoke sympathy for Nick's alienation, yet Nick has a shaky moral compass. When he saves Kiyoshi from being attacked, he does so for selfless reasons; yet when Kiyoshi fakes his suicide later, Nick's cooperation may be for reasons as simple as escaping the abusive prison environment himself. The overprotective Kiyoshi warns Nick not to get involved with his sister, Miyu (Shiori Kutsuna), claiming that yakuza can never become romantically involved, hoping that Nick will not question it. Despite this--and even before Kiyoshi's warning--Nick doesn't resist becoming entangled with Miyu, even modeling his Irezumi full-body tattoo depicting a koi fish after her own. When he is recognized by Paulie, Nick tries to evade him and deny any connection to his former life; yet Paulie's unfortunate lack of discretion leads him to all but blackmail Nick for coldly turning down his invitation for a drink with predictable results. (This leads to a scene similar to one from American Psycho, except that Jared Leto's role is reversed here.) Nick is so utterly consumed by his reinvention of himself that anything that might threaten his new persona must be eliminated with extreme prejudice. The Outsider recalls Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather; several scenes are even designed to recall The Godfather, including the famous climactic montage. Both movies are superficially about the intrigue and violence that comes with organized crime, but Nick is cut from the same cloth as Michael Corleone. Both men have a past in the military, and become involved in the "family" almost by chance, finding their true calling within their unlikely profession.
It is ambiguous as to whether Nick actually wishes to become a yakuza or not. His trip to the secret forest hideaway where he accepts the sake cup as a part of his ritual initiation has him initially convinced that he is being taken out into the woods to be killed. It's possible that Nick becomes a yakuza out of a debt to Kiyoshi, yet he fits into the lifestyle as though it were tailor fitted for him. Nick goes to lengths to prove that he is not without honor. Kiyoshi previously educated Nick on the ritual of yubitsume, in which a yakuza would dismember a finger to show his remorse at dishonoring his "father". After incurring the displeasure of Akihiro following a fumbled attempt to purchase arms from the departing Americans, Nick chops off the end of his little finger, only to realize that he has committed a faux pas in not handing the separated digit to Akihiro; he removes another finger without being prompted as a further act of contrition. Nick has effectively "paid double" for his error, even though he was technically under no obligation to do this--he isn't a yakuza yet, but makes the sacrifice to show his loyalty and honor to a man who he only just met. Nick's efforts to communicate with his new "family" represents his constant pursuit to become a respected and legitimate member of the yakuza. He speaks no Japanese at first, and understands little to none of the language. But by the time he has fully integrated himself into the Shiromatsu clan, he has a working knowledge of Japanese, becoming one of Akihiro's lieutenants in his war with a rival clan from Kobe, presided over by a younger patriarch named Seizu (Nao Ōmori). There is a climactic scene that is presented as an armistice in the war between Shiromatsu and the Seizu clan; Nick is in the background alongside his "brothers", all accompanying Akihiro. He is not in center of the action--he is among others like him who are committed to the clan. It is an understated shot, emphasizing that Nick has finally achieved his goal of belonging to a family, regardless of his ethnicity--even a criminal one.
Recommended for: Fans of a crime film set over a half a century ago in Japan, yet possessing a modern style and Western point-of-view. The Outsider alternates from moments of tense scheming between the two rival clans to outbursts of bloody violence, exploring what the effects of the violence and feelings of alienation have on a man seeking acceptance from a closed society.