While on a business trip, physics professor Yukawa (Masaharu Fukuyama) finds himself caught up in the investigation of a mysterious death at a seaside inn. After arriving in town as part of a team of scientists attempting to show the value of a controversial sea-drilling operation, Yukawa checks-in to an inn run by Setuko (Jun Fubuki) and Shigeru (Gin Maeda) who live with their daughter Narumi (Anne Watanabe). The couple’s nephew Kyohei (Hikaru Yamazaki) has also arrived in town and is looking forward to the summer break; but things take a dark turn when another guest, ex-police detective Tsukahara (Sansei Shiomi) is found dead on the beach. It appears that Tsukahara was part of an investigation into a murder in Tokyo fifteen years prior, following which Narumi and her parents moved from the capital. Officer Kishitani (Yuriko Yoshitaka) asks Yukawa for his assistance, but the professor soon discovers that the family has more than one secret.
Following on from 2008’s “Suspect X“, director Hiroshi Nishitani tackles another Higashino Keigo adaptation in “Midsummer’s Equation”, an enjoyable who-dunnit set in a picturesque seaside town. This juxtaposition between the dark subject matter of Tsukahara’s murder, and the stabbing that starts the film, alongside the brightly coloured locale works well, offering a clear-eyed look at the case as Yukawa himself views it without prejudice. The incredible underwater sequences and stunning backdrop make for a highly enjoyable watch and you are in little doubt that the genius Yukawa will eventually wrap up the entire case. The ensemble cast do a great job, particularly Anne Watanabe’s Narumi, a conscientious young woman who harbours a dark secret; and the young Hikaru Yamazaki as Kyohei, whose innocence provides the perfect foil for Yukawa’s deliberations.
“Midsummer’s Equation” examines the lengths people will go to to protect those closest to them. Morality is far from black-and-white with people caught between loyalty and self-preservation. The subplot of the sea-drilling opereations that threaten the natural order are a perfect encapsulation of the film’s philosophy, one in which the right action may not always be the just one. There are questions over the extent to which personal responsibility factors into the guilt of a suspect. Crime takes many forms, often committed in the heat of the moment, or unwittingly, as in the film, or coldly pre-meditated. The film attempts to distinguish between the levels of guilt attributable to these varying acts, despite the results being the same. An interesting detective tale that utilises a great cast of characters to explore the nuances of criminality.
