RENTAL FAMILY Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Hikari
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Akira Emoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, Mari Yamamoto.
Written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Hikari (37 Seconds, episodes of the tv series Beef, etc), Rental Family is a Japanese/US coproduction that gives audiences insight into a little-known aspect of Japanese culture, namely the use of actors to fulfil certain roles at family gatherings and functions. It is a practice that dates back over 30 years.
Phillip Vanderploeg (Brendan Fraser) is an expat American actor who has lived and worked in Japan for the past seven years. Following his appearance in a successful toothpaste commercial though he has found satisfying roles hard to come by. Then he is approached by Shinji (Takehiro Hira, from Gran Turismo, etc), the owner and manager of a unique company called Rental Family that hires out actors to play roles at family functions or other social gatherings. He is offered a position with the firm. At first Phillip is reluctant to accept, feeling that this is not a job for him. But he needs to money, so he reluctantly decides to accept.
His first role requires him to play a mourner at a funeral; but he is surprised to learn that the “corpse” is very much alive, and that this funeral ceremony was a “living wake” staged to show the “dead man” just how much he was loved and appreciated. Then he plays the American groom of a woman who wants to satisfy her conservative parents by holding a traditional wedding as a cover for her secret marriage to her girlfriend. His next two jobs though prove to be much more emotionally involving.
Next up he plays the estranged father of a young girl named Mia (newcomer Shannon Mahina Gorman, making her film debut here), whose mother needs to present a solid family unit to ensure that her daughter can be enrolled into an elite private school. Phillip and Mia eventually develop a strong bond and he becomes emotionally invested in her life. Then Phillip plays a journalist who interviews aging and retired former prolific actor Kikuo (Akira Emoto), who is suffering from dementia, about a potential career retrospective. However Kikuo’s daughter keeps him under strict surveillance.
One of his co-workers is Aiko (Mari Yamamoto, from the tv series Pachinko, etc), who often pretends to play the mistress of a philandering client so that they can gain forgiveness from their spouse for their infidelity. This subplot gives us some insight into the darker side of this business.
Phillip comes to learn though that there is a downside to these well-meaning deceptions – when his role is finished and he disappears from the lives of those families he befriended he leaves behind a huge emotional gap.
Front and centre here is Fraser, who once dominated the box office during the 90s with films like The Mummy before fading from public consciousness, although he worked steadily on television. He made a triumphant return in 2022 with his Oscar winning role in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which resurrected his career. Here the affable Fraser delivers a subtle, nuanced and understated performance that encompasses a range of emotions and he suffuses his character with warmth and a genuine sense of decency. Newcomer Mahina Gorman is also good as the precocious Mia. Hira brings a vulnerability to his performance as Shinji, who hides his own secrets.
Hakiri cowrote the script with first time writer Stephen Blahut, who worked as the cinematographer on her 37 Seconds, and the film deals with the importance of connection, of social interaction, kindness, and of positive relationships. This is her second feature, and she maintains a deliberately slow pace throughout and handles the material with restraint and empathy.
Rental Family looks good and has a glorious visual quality, courtesy of the gorgeous cinematography from Takura Ishizaka, who captures the sights and neon delights of Tokyo and its environs. It’s enough to have audiences leave the cinema planning on booking a holiday to Tokyo so they can experience its sights, sound and culture first hand.
★★★
