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Every Trick In The Book

Every Trick In The Book

2021

Director

Hideta Takahata

Runtime

119 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Shinichi Tsuda, a Naoki Prize winning author, is working to publish his newest story. It revolves around Tsuyama, a driver for a call girl business in Toyama Prefecture, who comes across a mysterious counterfeit bill and has his life targeted by underworld kingpin Kurata. Is his story fact or fiction? His editor, Nahomi Torikai, decides to verify whether his latest work is mere fiction based on real-life experiences. She looks into a family that vanished, a post office worker who went missing, a shady load of cash, the whereabouts of the doves, and the fateful encounter from that night... A series of shocking facts are revealed from Tsuda’s stories. Why did the counterfeit money end up in Tsuda’s hands? What is the “ending” that Tsuda wished to portray?

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

4.1/10

Fair

Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Limited

The mystery focuses on a Naoki Prize-winning author and a driver for a call girl business. There is no explicit mention of queer identities or non-cisnormative narratives within the plot.

Gender Representation

Fair

Editor Nahomi Torikai provides central investigative agency, driving the plot forward. However, the primary conflict remains centered on male characters, including the author and an underworld kingpin.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Fair

Set in Toyama Prefecture, the story features a culturally homogeneous Japanese cast. The narrative reflects its specific geographic context without demonstrating significant ethnic or intersectional diversity.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Fair

The film explores subjective morality and the instability of truth through a postmodern lens. It examines systemic corruption but lacks clear evidence of specific spiritual or institutional critiques.

Disability Representation

Minimal

The narrative provides no information regarding characters with visible or invisible disabilities. There is no mention of neurodivergence or chronic health conditions.

Strengths

  • Nahomi Torikai serves as a proactive female protagonist who drives the investigative narrative.
  • The setting provides a specific and culturally grounded Japanese context.

Areas for Improvement

  • The narrative lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or queer agency.
  • The central conflict relies heavily on traditional male-driven criminal and literary hierarchies.
  • There is a lack of ethnic or intersectional diversity within the character cast.

AI Analysis

Every Trick In The Book operates as a traditional mystery-drama that prioritizes plot-driven tension over demographic exploration. While the film grants investigative agency to a female protagonist, the core conflict remains rooted in a male-dominated criminal and literary hierarchy. The setting and character profiles suggest a culturally homogeneous Japanese environment. While this provides a specific sense of place, the story does not actively deconstruct social hierarchies or introduce intersectional identities. Ultimately, the film functions as a standard genre piece. It lacks the necessary evidence of progressive representation or the subversion of traditional social structures to achieve a higher diversity score.

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