A real gem from Netflix and nice different take on gangster film (spoilers)

This is a lot better then it's 7 IMDB rating suggests. I can see why some might not like it as it's more drama then the usual gangster flicks you see around these days. This is a more grounded take. The first half is the usual rise from bottom up the ranks of Yakuza then the fall then in it's last hour it turns more into a family drama and I think that might where it stumbles for some.

Basically in the last hour the main character Kenji gets out of jail after serving 14 years. Comes out to find his Yakuza family is now a shadow of itself. His boss is dying of cancer. Everything he thought Yakuza stood for means nothing now. Finds out he's a father of a 14 year old girl. And starts to be disowned by his family and society. And dies at the hands of one of them.

It's a pretty downbeat film especially in it's third act. And if you are looking for bloodshed, and the main character taking back his rightful place and fighting off the rival gang to get his gang back on top, then look elsewhere this isn't that type of gangster film. This really shows the bleak life of a gangster's life.

The only member of the cast I knew straight away was Machiko Ono as she was in Hirokazu Koreeda's wonderful Like Father, Like Son. as love interest of the main character (although she's a beautiful woman she doesn't quite pass for early 20's in the early part of the film (she's 39 in real life), although they do bring it up in the film she looks old for her age) but she's really great in the small part she has. As is Hayato Isomura as the grown Tsubasa.

But this film belongs to Go Ayano as Kenji, who surprisingly pulls off playing a young 20 cocky punk, to ice cool Yazuka to broken down middle age ex gangster with ease, and he's 39 too which makes it even more impressive. Seems to be a hugely popular actor in Japan, and you can see why with this performance.

I gave the film 8. I really thought it was nice change of pace for gangster film but I can definitely not see it been a film that everyone who's a fan of gangster genre will like mostly for it's third act.