REEL JAPAN

Score: 8/10

RENTAL FAMILY was directed and co-written by Japanese filmmaker Hikari, who studied cinema in the US and released her first feature film, 37 SECONDS, in 2019. RENTAL FAMILY stars Canadian-American actor Brendan Fraser as Phillip, a jobbing expat living in Tokyo. Having sparked his “Brenaisance” return to Hollywood stardom with THE WHALE (2022), Fraser chooses the quirkiest out-of-the-box followup project possible in this international production filmed with a 90 percent Japanese cast entirely in Japan. 

The story explores an industry found in Japan but in few other nations. Philip plays a hired stand-in pretending to be whoever the client needs them to be in their home, in public, and even in solemn ceremonies. Luckily RENTAL FAMILY does not fail to grasp its potential as a film using fake human relationships to explore the mysteries of real humanity.

Hira Takehiro (SHOGUN) is excellent as Philip’s boss. Child actress Shannon Mahina Gorman turns in a fine performance. Emoto Akira is moving as Hasegawa-san, a famed Japanese actor in his twilight years. Emoto is something of a legend himself, being a veteran of countless films and television serials over 40 years and the patriarch of an acting dynasty. He frequently plays the villain but here he plays an elderly man rebelling in order to confront devastating secrets from his past. 

When a film is whimsical, inexorable pacing is king. RENTAL FAMILY sets a brisk pace and explores just enough off-kilter scenarios within the rental-persona industry to establish the emotional stakes. By putting Phillip and his journey through the fraught rental-persona industry at the center, the film tells one story out of many. Brendan Fraser exudes chemistry with all of his costars and carries the film on his solid shoulders. 

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