If there’s one thing the usual murder mystery has in excess, it’s suspense. However, The Third Murder takes a bold step sideways and shows all its cards in the opening scene. Viewers already know the killer, they witness the murder, as well as the aftermath. So, director Hirokazu Kore-eda turns what’s usually a story about who did it into a journey to discover “why” and whether a system built on evidence can capture the messy truths of human nature.
Known for his intimate family dramas, Hirokazu takes a whole other route with The Third Murder, delivering a legal procedural that balances philosophy and courtroom drama. The film itself follows Shigemori (Masaharu Fukuyama), an acclaimed attorney brought in to save his client from the death penalty. On paper, it’s an open-and-shut case considering the confessed killer, Misumi (Kōji Yakusho), is clearly guilty. But the more Shigemori digs, the more slippery the truth becomes as a concept. It gets lost in translation alongside shifting motives and hidden agendas. Perhaps what really sells the movie is that it doesn’t stop at questioning guilt or innocence, it digs into whether those labels mean anything at all.
‘The Third Murder’ Uses the Guise of Mystery To Explore the Messy Truth Behind Guilt and Innocence
Image Via Gaga Corporation A good murder mystery is like a jigsaw puzzle, once you find the right pieces the picture is clear. Then there’s The Third Murder which essentially tosses out the puzzle and replaces it with a Rubik’s cube that viewers are never meant to solve. The opening scene is proof enough that this isn’t a typical whodunit. Misumi is seen, hammer in hand, murdering his boss which makes it pretty much a closed case… or so it would seem. In the scene where Misumi first meets his defense attorney, Shigemori, he’s oddly detached considering he just got caught for killing a man. He even occasionally changes up his story's details, making one wonder whether it’s just a game to him. At some point, he claims he killed his boss to help Sakie (Suzu Hirose), the victim’s daughter, escape years of abuse. It’s not clear whether he’s telling the truth or simply trying to depict himself as a tragic hero.
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There’s also an unsettling moment where Shigemori visits Sakie and her silence is so heavy that it’s clear she knows more than she’s giving away, suggesting a deeper plot at play. It’s this constant shift in perspective that leaves people wondering who’s lying, who’s manipulating whom, and above all if the truth is even relevant to the big picture. The film cleverly pretends that it’s interested in discovering who committed the murder. Meanwhile, The Third Murder’s true interest is in our biases, our need for closure, and our flawed systems of judgment.
Misumi’s Conflicting Accounts Shape ‘The Third Murder’s Moral Depth
Picking a story and sticking to it was not Misumi's strong suit, but in a way, that’s the very backbone of The Third Murder. As already established, Misumi didn’t waste time before confessing that he killed his boss, seemingly wrapping the case up instantly. But as the trial progressed, each unraveled “truth” was even messier than the last. One moment, he confessed that it was a robbery gone wrong, and then he moved on to claim that he was helping the victim’s wife escape an abusive marriage. A major bombshell was when he made it look like the victim’s daughter possibly hired him.
The thing about all these versions of the truth is that they feel plausible right before they crumble under closer inspection. While these stories leave viewers questioning just about everything, they equally force them to examine the motivation behind each action in the film. Was it self-defense? Revenge? A warped sense of justice? Or is Misumi out to make a fool out of everyone? But more importantly, to what end? This uncertainty underscores The Third Murder’s loose relationship with the truth. Instead putting the spotlight on tackling the moral ambiguities of truth itself. Misumi’s lies explore the premise that guilt isn’t always black-and-white, and sometimes, the “why” outranks the “what.”
Release Date September 9, 2017
Runtime 125 minutes
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
Cast Koji Yakusho , Masaharu Fukuyama , Suzu Hirose , Shinnosuke Mitsushima , Mikako Ichikawa , Izumi Matsuoka , Aju Makita , Tōru Shinagawa , Toshie Negishi , Tsutomu Takahashi , Ichirō Ogura , Hajime Inoue , Isao Hashizume , Yuki Saito , Kotaro Yoshida , Makoto Nakamura , Hiroshi Yamamoto , Hikohiko Sugiyama , Kenji Iwaya , Takahiro Ono , Madoka Tomosaki , Hideki Nakano , Roy Kishima , Michino Yokoyama , Rumi Komatsu
The Third Murder is currently available to stream on Hoopla in the U.S.
English (US) ·