SIFF 2013 Notebook: Key of Life

English: Life-Key Deutsch: Beatmungsfolie (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Kenji Uchida‘s overlong switcheroo caper, “Key of Life,” would be greatly improved by lopping off about 40 minutes and recasting one of the principals. The basic plot has the makings of a decent screwball comedy: a failed actor changes places with an amnesiac hit man, while a lovelorn executive pencils in one of the confused pair as her groom-to-be. Teruyuki Kagawa‘s meticulous Kondo is surprisingly winning as the underworld Mr. Fixit turned struggling artist, as is Ryoko Hirosue, the magazine editor who mistakes him for the honest, reliable, hardworking man of her dreams. But Masato Makai’s thespian wannabe, Sakurai, just staggers through the movie pulling dopey faces. Worst of all, the middle third of the film consists of an warren of pointless, unfunny subplots, dwelling on characters making sadface about the antics of peripheral figures. After struggling to stay awake through these sections, I had little patience or energy to appreciate the denouement–even as it resumed and appeared to neatly resolve the main plot. By this time, I mainly just wanted the keys to my own life back.