"The Brain Man" is a highly entertaining movie, that it's at its best when it centers on the relationship between its two principal characters, but is a tad overlong and overplays its 'crazy people' card.
There seems to be a serial killer on the loose. The police is trying to find the person, and they think they have him when, after some inquiries, they detain Ichiro Suzuki. But what seems like an accomplice has been able to run away. Doctor Mariko Washiya is called by the police to try to help uncover the puzzle that Ichiro Suzuki is.
The movie centers on the relationship that builds between Ichiro and Mariko, the second a psychiatrist that believes in the possibility of change within people and that wants to find what made Ichiro the kind of person he is. And while researching for Ichiro's past and developing relationships, the movie is a fascinating study on human psychology. However, the 'psychokiller' card is overplayed in more than one occasion, with deaths and explosions just there to shock the viewer.
It is a movie worth watching, and even if it's more than two hours long, it feels fresh and the running time only starts to feel stretched close to the end. The direction and acting help a lot, with lots of familiar Japanese movie/TV dramas faces that do a great job with their characters. If it just hadn't gone for the shock so much...
