Audition (1999)

See, this is why I don't date anymore.

Takashi Miike films are not for the faint of heart, as anyone who has seen the likes of Gozu, Izo, or Visitor Q can confirm. They're also not usually for those who like their films to have a clear-cut narrative structure. Besides being incredibly violent, Miike films have a reputation for being equally bizarre, easily in the same league with a David Lynch or early David Cronenberg film -- but with the trappings of Japanese culture making his films seem twice as bizarre to Western audiences. However, Audition is probably the closest thing to a mainstream film that Miike has done -- but don't worry, most of the creepy violence remains intact.

Audition introduces us to Japanese businessman named Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), Seven years after the death of his wife. After raising a teenage son on his own, Shigeharu decides that it's time for him to get married again. The only problem is that he's been out of the dating scene for so long, he's not sure where to start.

Eager to help Shigeharu get back into the game, his friend Yasuhisa (Jun Kunimura), a film industry executive, comes up with a brilliant idea to find Shigeharu a date. They hold a fake audition for a non-existent film, so that Shigeharu can find a suitable candidate among several young ladies to ask out (now doesn't this already sound like a really dumb idea fraught with peril?). After auditioning several attractive women (with some hilarious results), Shigeharu is smitten with Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina), a gorgeous but quiet young woman with a hint of the disturbed about her.

Shigeharu pursues Asami, despite Yasuhisha's gut instinct that the girl has something wrong with her (too bad those instincts weren't so sharp when he thought up the fake audition to begin with). Yasuhisha decides to check up on Asami, only to find out that none of her supposed friends that she put down as references can be found. Likewise, her former places of employment have either never heard of her, or have all closed up under mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, Shigeharu begins to learn the hard way that there is, in fact, something very off with the lovely Asami.

Although everyone gives a solid performance in Audition, including veteran character actor Jun Kunimura as the well-intentioned friend, it's really Eihi Shiina who steals the show. More than just a gorgeous face, she gives us a multi-faceted character that is equally innocent, seductive, vulnerable, and terrifying. She's a Hannibal Lecter in the body of a fragile-looking Japanese girl. While the "man stalked by jilted lover" premise is certainly nothing new, Miike's direction and Shiina's hair-raising performance help to elevate Audition above the run-of-the-mill "stalker chick" flicks.

While hardcore Miike fans may balk at Audition's fairly formulaic trappings, or its relatively light quotient of gore, anyone who likes a good suspense film should be pleased -- especially during the immensely creepy final act. Newcomer Shiina proves herself in the role of Asami -- I just hope that this lovely young lady's reward for a job well done won't be being typecast for the rest of her career as the "psycho girl".