Liverleaf

Eisuke Naito’s Liverleaf (Based on the manga series “Misumisou” by Rensuke Oshikiri) may use a much explored trope in horror films in bullying but it feels as fresh as the newly fallen snow that takes over the scenery.

Haruka Nozaki (Anna Yamada) is a target of bullying by a group of classmates and is harassed relentlessly, seemingly at the behest of Taeko Oguro (Rinka Ôtani) and seemingly because Mitsuru Aiba (Hiroya Shimizu) has taken an interest in Haruka over Taeko.

When Nozaki’s bullying is taken to the point of having her family home set alight in which her parents die and her effervescent younger sister Shoko (Sena Tamayori) is severely injured, she understandably has a mental break and starts to exact revenge on those who she believes have perpetrated this crime.

What retribution that comes is swift and decisive and blood is spilled aplenty (with seemingly no subsequent investigation by the police). The change in Nozaki’s temperament follows a change in weather:  The impending snowfall and colder weather brings around a similar cold attitude as Nozaki ruthlessly exacts revenge on those who bullied her and deprived her of her parents. And, in the context of this film, who could blame her? She endured it all and never reacted until the peer pressure elevated the threat to higher consequences until this last straw broke the camel’s back.

 

The switch in Nozaki’s attitude is really well done, especially after the measured build-up which manages to place all the characters into their roles successfully before advancing onto the more violent elements. And advance it does, building up to a thrilling and also shocking finale as events are revealed and comeuppance served. And all the while the aesthetic beauty that is the mix of snow and blood is given prominence in these moments of retribution.

There is a common thread that runs through all the issues here and most of the characters and it underpins the reasons for the behaviour of the teenagers. This reveal is well constructed and gives some additional depth to events but at the same time also felt a little bit contrived in its intricacies and pervasiveness. There is also an additional storyline that ties in with the events, concerning the headmistress of their school (which is closing down), that feels out-of-place. I know it is meant to be an additional emphasis on the results of bullying at school but it wasn’t done with enough care and tonally felt different to the rest of the film.

Liverleaf is a beautifully shot film and it doesn’t shy away from moments of violence but instead follows them with real intent.