Review: Perfect Blue (1997) · 7:58pm Oct 10th, 2015
Satoshi Kon's debut feature is a surreal, disturbing and utterly fascinating study of psychological breakdown and catharsis coupled with a biting commentary on the exploitive nature of the television industry, and our own preoccupation with the imagery and nature of fame.
Originally conceived as a live action feature, in many ways, Perfect Blue plays out like an animated live action film. Obviously inspired by the works of David Lynch, Kon crafts a world that at first is inviting and cheerful, just like the fuzzy bubblegum J-Pop that out heroine, Mima Kirigoe, sings at the beginning during her time as a J-Pop idol. However, underneath this facade is an increasingly fractured and disturbed world, with stalking fans, perverted photographers, and increasingly exploitative screenwriters who use television and fiction as an outlet for their darker impulses. In many ways, however, the fact that this film is indeed animated means that its free to bend the laws of reality and perception in ways that could most certainly be impossible in live action. Mixing rapid-fire edits, perception bending uses of mirrors, and a visual language that is supremely singular and unique, Kon proved himself one of the great feature directors of anime, and his vision will be sorely missed.
The story itself, penned by screenwriter Sadayuki Murai, is a reimagining of the novel of the same name, and goes on a wild and disturbed journey through the mind of Mima, whom, hoping to find fame as an actress, abandons her J-Pop Idol status and goes into television, getting a role in the crime drama 'Double Bind'. Things take a dark, twisted turn however when Mima discovers a website called 'Mima's Room', which has a frighteningly intimate knowledge of her day to day life. So begins Mima's steady slide into madness and paranoia, and the film grows darker and more nightmarish, blurring the lines between reality and illusion in increasingly disturbing and frightening ways. Of course, given the nature of the film, I can't really go into the plot too much, because it would spoil the twists and turns, and really rob you of the unique experience of seeing everything play out the way it does.
The English dub cast does a great job, and by all accounts, this is a very accurate and faithful dub. Ruby Marlowe gives Mima an innocence and fragility that fits her perfectly, while also having a great mastery of the wide gamut of emotions and feelings that Mima undergoes over the course of the story. Simply put, its all top notch voice acting, and I give it a huge two thumbs up.
Running at a mere 81 minutes, Perfect Blue races by a brisk pace, yet doesn't feel rushed or too slow. Knowing when to let the urban claustrophobic atmosphere of Tokyo speak for itself, and also combining it with Masahiro Ikumi's lurking, industrial score, and Satoshi Kon creates a wonderful mind screw of a movie, albeit one that is unflinching its depiction of violence, and the exploitive sexuality of the television business. It's most certainly not for the faint of heart, but for those who take the ride, its totally worth it.
5 out of 5 stars.
On an interesting side note, Darren Aronofsky bought the copyright of Perfect Blue in order to recreate the bathtub scene in his own Requiem for a Dream. He'd later revisit these themes of identity and mental and psychological decay in Black Swan, another film that owes a heavy debt to Satoshi Kon's film. Apparently, Kon and Aronofsky became close friends as well, which is really cool.
