Worth: $14.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Ryohei Suzuki, Hio Miyazawa, Sawako Agawa
Intro:
... there’s a beauty and warmth here that is, like its narrative journey, quite unexpected.
The central relationship in Egoist is not a straightforward one and this layered love story takes an unexpected turn in its second half, seamlessly changing topic and tone from a gay romance to something else entirely.
Egoist is shown from the point of view of Kosuke (Ryohei Suzuki), a spiffy fashion magazine editor in Tokyo who lost his mother while he was in high school. He hires a pretty boy personal trainer, the younger Ryuta (Hio Miyazawa), who was raised by a sickly single mum (Sawako Agawa), who he lives with and financially supports.
Before long, Kosuke is getting extra workouts with Ryuta and the sex depicted is on the arty/tasteful side (Kosuke wishes Ryuta would be more “greedy”), but when the younger man reveals a secret about himself, the relationship moves into different territory before another plot twist changes Egoist into a family drama.
Based on the autobiographical novel by Makoto Takayama, Egoist covers big themes through the lens of three main characters and their interrelationships. Class is an understated theme, with the gulf between the two men in terms of social status adding complexity to – and possibly even defining – their relationship. Egoist may leave you with questions about the relationship (like, how far would you go for love?), and rather than answering them, it lets you draw your own conclusions.
Director and co-writer Daishi Matsunaga has created an atmospheric work that’s brilliantly cast – Suzuki, as the ‘egoist’ who fusses over his appearance, plays it natural and is subtly compelling.
Yet Egoist lacks verve – despite when, alone in his living room, Kosuke cranks up the pop music and sings into his hairbrush – but its characters easily hold your attention and, ultimately, there’s a beauty and warmth here that is, like its narrative journey, quite unexpected.
