2LDK (2002)

I heard somebody say the other day “who doesn’t like to see two chicks going at it in a catfight?” Well, now I have seen 2LDK, a movie which matches both the mind and body of two wannabe actresses in a brutally violent battle to the bitter end, I would have to say that the answer depends on just how far the participants were prepared to go. Only the truly sick would want to see a ‘real-life’ match up on the scale of the one represented here but, hey, this is the movies dude so fill your boots!
Lana, a shallow self centred fledgling actress whose prepubescent beauty contest triumphs are proudly displayed in her bedroom lives in harmony with Nozomi, a timid girl who’s passion for the theatre and the simple life are lost on the materialistic Lana. After both audition for the same leading female role in the upcoming movie ‘Yakuza Wives’, they are surprised to find that the field of applicants is whittled down to just the two of them. Slowly the two girl’s relationship begins to crack under the strain of jealous resentment and bitter rivalry, growing beyond that of petty mind games and into a vicious battle to which no act is too extreme. Each girl stands between the success and failure of the other, who will triumph and who will perish?

Don’t go thinking that a film about two warring factions will bring you the female equivalent of ' Freddy vs Jason' or 'Alien vs Predator', this is a small movie on all counts including a cast list of two, a set that never extends beyond the front door of the apartment and, of course the budget but these points are collectively poor reasons to miss out on a film that is at times darkly humorous and often visually intriguing. Writer/Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi has carefully crafted the stories violent ‘snow-ball’ effect with the help of some neat touches including the inclusion of early thought dialogue which is never spoken on screen by the actresses but allows the viewer a really amusing incite into the thought process and motivation behind the girls ultimate actions. Minor irritations such as ensuring the plug hole is clear of hairs after a bath, labeling food in a ‘hers & hers’ style, the type of clothing each other wears and even the manner in which they eat their evening meal are all carefully crafted interactions to push the story and the characters into the oncoming traffic of chaos. What start as silent thoughts turn to audible insults marking the onset of the second phase of the movie.
Simple, basic camera craft allows the most to be made of the true battle royale as our girls, now almost eerily calm with rage, begin knocking chunks out of one another via any possible method. The level of antagonising is, at first often ‘Tom and Jerry’ in style with all but a 1 ton anvil falling on somebody’s head, but it doesn’t take long for the bleach spray and chainsaw to emerge to darken the doorstep of any giggler as the slapstick turns to humiliating carnage. As mentioned, the cast list is short to say the very least with the entire film focusing on the two female leads played by Maho Nonami (Lana) and Eiko Koike (Nozomi) both of whom had ragging flu whilst acting out their terror campaigns against one another's characters but neither appeared to let this effect their strong performance.

TLA’s DVD package contains a 25 minute press conference feature which shows cast and crew talking in some length about the movies conception along with a decent ‘Making of’ feature and the original 2LDK trailer.

Whilst not as technically outrageous as some other Japanese directors, it is fair to say that Tsutsumi has yet to reach his full potential and given a decent budget, who knows what he might be able to accomplish. 2LDK is for me, a surprisingly enjoyable movie which has some solid direction, simple yet effective camera work and strong acting smothered in the blackest of black humour.

Score

7 / 10