The Third Murder

A trainwreck of epic, astounding proportions, The Third Murder details the confusing investigation that ensues after a man is beaten to death with a blunt instrument and set on fire by, presumably, an already-convicted killer named Misumi (Yakusho Kōji) – with the movie following Misumi’s lawyer, Shigemori (Fukuyama Masaharu), as he attempts to discover what really happened that fateful day. Filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda delivers an excessively slow procedural that’s almost entirely devoid of intriguing elements, with the bulk of the movie’s impossibly padded-out narrative revolving around the aforementioned investigation and the protagonist’s continuing interviews with his truth-impaired client. There’s absolutely nothing here designed to capture and sustain the viewer’s interest, as Koreeda, working from his own screenplay, proves unable (or unwilling) to transform any of the movie’s central characters into fully-fleshed-out figures worth caring about or sympathizing with – which, in turn, prevents the viewer from even fleetingly working up an ounce of compassion for either Shigemori’s tireless exploits or Misumi’s life-altering plight. The payoff, when it finally does come, is in no way compelling enough (or coherent enough) to justify the interminable nature of everything leading up to it, which ultimately does secure The Third Murder‘s place as an astonishing misfire from a decidedly erratic filmmaker.

1/2* out of ****