After making several shorts over the past decade, writer-director Shingo Soejima finally takes the dive into feature filmmaking with “Eleven Greed”. A violent and gritty, no-nonsense crime thriller, the film marks the exciting feature-length debut of a promising directorial talent.
Eleven Greed is screening at Japan Filmfest Hamburg
At an abandoned countryside warehouse, a drug deal is about to go down that will determine the lives of eleven daring souls. Drug peddlers, gangsters and dirty cops collide with a whole load of cash up for grabs. How will these crafty crooks take each other out, and who will survive to seize the spoils?
The simplicity of Soejima's action thriller is the key to its overwhelming success, as we're dragged into the gritty world of underground crime. The narrative is nothing revolutionary, and the characters are no more than jumped-up stereotypes, but these elements all complement the story at hand and allow us to get straight into the action rather than be bogged down in melodrama. At only 76 minutes, the film is blisteringly paced, with Soejima utilising every second of the short runtime to deliver a tight action flick.
The first chunk of the film builds up tension wonderfully, as we're introduced to the various players and given insight into their desperate personal situations. The trio of crooked cops have plenty on the line, whether it be gambling debt or ill loved ones. The yakuza, Shima, needs the deal to succeed if his faction is to have any chance at survival, while his underling, Yasu, has selfish motives to collapse the exchange altogether. All the characters are made better through the memorable performances, notably those of Satoshi Karatani and Ayaka Nishibun, who are both utilised brilliantly until the bitter end.
When tensions reach boiling point, the gloves come off as we stew in an all-out battle between the eleven greedy protagonists. The fights play out in such a way that certain characters with axes to grind come to blows before the end, making for some very satisfying showdowns. It would be easy to criticize the abundance of jarring CGI blood, but considering the budget for this indie feature and the integration of great make-up and costuming, it's a minor distraction in what is an otherwise very competent action movie.
It's Soejima's direction that really makes “Eleven Greed” tick, with the director making great use of the limited environment to keep the action engaging. Shootouts, swordplay and fist fights are energised and intense, thanks to some fast-paced editing and flowing camerawork. A tracking shot inside the warehouse in the film's latter stages is one particular highlight, as the camera spins around while vengeful survivors hunt each other down. It's Soejima's adept direction that makes each bloody encounter tense and exciting, as he maximizes the production's limitations.
Particularly enjoyable are the cuts to the dreamlike game of Chō-Han, in which the numerous characters are assigned a number between two and eleven before we're shown their version of events. These breaks in the main narrative build further tension as they reinforce the idea that all the participants are involved in one big gamble, with only one of them likely to leave with the riches. Juxtaposing the drug deal with the Chō-Han game, which also opens the film, is a clever way to frame the narrative and distinguish “Eleven Greed” from similar features.
While rough around the edges in parts, “Eleven Greed” proves to be a thrilling crime caper that understands the genre and delivers on all fronts. Balls to the wall action and a memorable cast of spunky characters make Shingo Soejima's debut feature bloody entertaining.
