Laplace’s Witch is a 2018 Japanese fantasy thriller about a geochemistry professor who is asked to determine where two mysterious deaths by are an accident or murder.
Based on the 2015 novel by Keigo Higashino, Laplace’s Witch (Japanese: Rapurasu no majo)is a journey with a mix of fantasy and science, director Takashi Miike at the helm, bringing his usual flair of beauty and mood. Thick with atmosphere, there are some slick moments that create plenty of tension with loads of mystery, the rural Japanese setting working well to elevate this right where it should. As with most Japanese movies, it’s got humor and a few well-earned comedic breaks, though this is mostly a very dark experience.
I’ve never read the novel Rapurasu no Majo by Keigo Higashino, of which the film is based. However, I’m assuming its faithful to its source, with a strong scientific angle that also wraps in some elements of the supernatural. There’s a crime to solve at the heart of it, which honestly is quite the head-scratcher, seeing as any possibility of it happening is precisely zero, yet the introduction of the young woman who calls herself Laplace’s Witch aka Madoka (Suzu Hirose) is where the story picks up most of its charms.
While her character feels rather one-note, Hirose manages to ignite the role with some spark, giving her a genuine sense of honor that makes it easy to root for her. Paired with professor Shusuke Aoe (Sho Sakurai), they become quite the team, especially since the professor is an oddball with real passion in his rare field of earth science that no one else seems interested in. The chemistry between them is strong, even if a little familiar, though it’s the theories put into play, including French mathematician Pierre Simon Laplace’s articulation called Laplace’s Demon, that really help to make things click.
Disappointingly though, Laplace’s Witch starts to fall apart with its poor pacing. The story, with its two-hour runtime reveals too much too early, dragging out the second half, even if discovering the root of Madoka’s special abilities to possesses which leads to her assisting the professor with the investigation. While this allows for a few nice twists and turns, they end up overly-fantastical and far-fetched, though this being a Japanese film somehow makes these a bit more forgivable. However, there are some serious execution issues that make the final experience feel simply too bland.