★★
An enigmatic translator with a dark past is brought in for questioning after an ex-pat friend, who came between her and her photographer boyfriend, ends up missing and presumed dead.
Classification: 15
Tedious and dull, if not for the sheer magnitude that is Alicia Vikander, Earthquake Bird would send audiences asleep with its tension lacking mystery and love triangle drama. With its setting of Tokyo 1989, director Wash Westmoreland is unable to make an intriguing story from Vikander's character of Lucy being interrogated by police over the disappearance of her friends Lily. Not taking advantage of his locations, actors, or source material Westmoreland squanders every potential this film could have had even if the final product would have you wondering if there was any, to begin with.
Vikander's Lucy appears to be the film's interpretation of a stranger in a strange land, it could also apply to Riley Keough's character Lily in the flashbacks but it's clear that Lucy is withholding much from the other characters and audience. Forming a relationship with Japanese photographer Teiji Matsuda, Lucy's arc explores themes of intimacy and identity through this intense connection with him and his photography. Teiji and Lucy's connection becomes sexual as she becomes enraptured with how he sees her, apart from her past and insecurities. When Lucy is introduced to another ex-pat Lily, a paranoid love triangle between them and Teiji forms as Lucy suspects her boyfriend of having affairs with other women. Vikander and Keough work well together but Westmoreland's direction doesn't create an engaging mystery of what may have happened between the two women, most of the time it feels the script engages in the worst clichés of female rivalry.
Lucy is concealing something from the audience and the police questioning her but the pacing between the interrogation scenes are so long that it's easy to forget that Keough's character has actually vanished. Naoki Kobayashi as Teiji has great scene presence and a damn fine dance scene with Keough but there is no captivating intimacy to either relationship nor growing pressure from the love triangle. Earthquake Bird just lumbers from one scene to the next with little progression beyond Vikander's paranoia that her relationship is deteriorating. When the third act rolls around and the reveals are made there's no excitement to be had and the final result forms more confusion than clarity. For a film trying to be an intriguing erotic mystery thriller, Westmoreland makes the most unflattering and mundane choices.
Even the setting of Japan is underused, while sequences from cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon highlight the city of Tokyo's unique urban landscape along with beautiful scenery of nature it feels like a shallow backdrop. Vikander is hiding from herself and others in Japan, using it as a way to reinvent herself from a past she is ashamed of, Teiji is another component to this reinvention, she sees that he can view something special within her without knowing her baggage. She is drawn to this but Lily's presence threatens her new sense of acceptance. Chung-hoon gives Vikander and Kobayashi dark amorous lighting, highlight the detail and intimacy between the two in Teiji's apartment but without real chemistry between the leads, all this effort feels futile. Earthquake Bird doesn't take advantage of any of the talents on display or have those talents work together to create fascinating storytelling, Japan feels like an afterthought along with everything else.
However, the most interesting idea that appears in Westmoreland's film is the theme of responsibility and how it connects emotionally towards grief and guilt. Death is a concept that seems to follow Lucy not only due to Lily's disappearance but because of her past and interactions. Early in the film we see a woman slip and fall down a flight of stairs after Lucy greets her leaving the audience watching Vikander's shocked expression as she internalises her disgrace and fear. Another example of how this film misuses Vikander, these ideas only becoming clear or relevant in the final scenes, how Lucy's shame feeds into her actions but the revelation does not feel remotely rewarding for the audience. At that point, it makes Westmoreland's aimless direction more apparent. The storylines should feed into each other but its clearly missing that ingredient that makes any of its ideas compelling and keeping it all connected to the main narrative.
Vikander is extremely talented but her skills can't do much to salvage the faults with this misfire of a thriller. Without a passionate driving force behind the camera, it is difficult for the audience to become invested in the relationships on screen as the sullen dramatics of the characters feel unrealistic. More uncomfortable rather than exciting, the mysteries and romances to Earthquake Bird highlight the banalest choices in the genre and leave audiences severely lacking enjoyment as a result.
Director: #WashWestmoreland
Release Date: November 15th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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