In fact it is a tribute to Yakusho’s performance that apparently straightforward Misumi comes off as an elusive, enigmatic character, difficult to pin down and harboring eccentricities like a deep passion for peanut butter.īecause of the vagaries of the Japanese legal system (one of Kore-eda’s themes) it goes harder on a murderer if robbery is just an afterthought and not the motive, so Shigemori works diligently to establish a grudge against the factory owner as the reason.
Much about Misumi and his confession to murder and robbery seem straightforward, but the accused has the unnerving habit of frequently changing details of his confession, something which makes putting a defense together challenging. In fact, Misumi was recently released from prison when the factory owner, who was his boss, was killed.
#The third murder movie trial#
Giving the case an unusual wrinkle is a unexpected connection between defendant and lawyer that dates back 30 years.Īt that time Misumi was convicted of murdering two other men (hence the film’s title), but Shigemori’s father, who was the trial judge, sentenced him to 30 years in prison instead of death. An all-business type who reminds an associate that they are defending Misumi, not becoming his friend, Shigemori thinks of himself as a pragmatist who cares not about the truth but about what a winning strategy might be, a belief system defending Misumi is going to test.