Death Note

Some people love to play with death. In a particular case, through moving pictures. Specifically, the disturbing one. I remember the time when I was active in an internet forum called KasKus. I mean, active as a passive reader.

There was a specific forum named Disturbing Picture. It contains so many images that arouse our disgusting feeling. Even so, many people are active on this particular forum. Maybe, for them this “disturbing” word means: beautiful.

For me, showing disturbing picture is one type of art. As long as it performed in a fictional sphere. And one fiction film that I like to watch about it: ABC of Death.

ABC of Death was an omnibus. It contains many short films that the title of each shorts, started with the alphabet from A to Z. The movie entitled “Q”, was directed by Adam Wingard. He also made one slasher movie in the omnibus of VHS. And recently, I watched his film on Netflix: Death Note.

Originally, Death Note was a manga created by Japanese writer: Tsugumi Ohba. The comic then illustrated by Takeshi Obata, and became popular for its thrilling storyline. On 2017, Adam Wingard directed one of the movie adaptation.

Adam Wingard’s Death Note tells about Light Turner—whom originally named Light Yagami. One day, he found a book that was fell from the sky on a stormy day. Later he realized that it was belongs to Ryuk, the god of death. Ryuk wants to play a life and death game with this book.

There was a number of things that made this 2017 movie adaptation received many negative reviews. Some say, Light character became different from the original one. On the manga or Japanese live action version, Light depicted as a genius, dominant and manipulative person. Hence, on this Netflix produced adaptation, he became a clumsy one, and dependant to his lover. Not to mention the white washing issue in this version of the movie.

Even so, we can still enjoy the cinematography. Adam Wingard knows how to frame a picture beautifully. I like the way he put the camera not in a straight position on some acts. Beside it, they way Adam killed his character through hand stroke in the note of death, was mesmerizing.

The brutal way of decapitation in the beginning of the movie, has the same amount of beauty with the coherence of musical background in the suicide of FBI agents. Although, the use of old music felt sugarcoated. I didn’t enjoy the way Adam close this movie with The Power of Love. Those Air Supply song was just unfit to the tense of the ending.

As a conclussion, I didn’t feel regret to watch this movie. Yes, there were some critics on the production, but I would rather accept it as one way people respond to how Death Note translated in their own style. Me myself, am waiting to the sequel of the 2016 produced Death Note adaptation: Light Up The New World. []