Okay, the Oscars are over. In case you’re done with high-falutin’ cinema, here’s a hardass gangster movie with deliciously bad people doing acts of extreme violence upon each other – Outrage (Autoreiji). Like any good Yakuza film, there are lots of full body tattoos and severed fingers.
But what makes Outrage stand out is the pace and stylishness of all the nastiness, as if Quentin Tarantino had made Goodfellas (only without all the extra dialogue about foot rubs and the Royale with cheese).
Director Takeshi Kitano also stars, credited as Beat Takeshi. Takeshi, much like Charles Bronson, has the worn and rough face of a man who has seen too much disappointment and brutality.
Outrage is just filmed too brightly to qualify as a film noir, but the story has all the tragedy of a classic noir. You’re rooting for the characters to survive, but you know that they probably won’t – and they know it, too.
There is also a crime boss so cynical and duplicitous that he puts the Sopranos to shame.
Outrage is not a great movie, but is plenty entertaining if you’re in the mood.