Solid movie, keeps you engaged and decent twists through to the end. The Japanese setting and cultural exploration adds an interesting element, and great acting by Vikander (if she didn't learn Japanese, her acting sure was convincing). While the story does sag in a few places, I was never bored. Not an award winning movie, but a very solid watch.

Seriously - what wild standards do people have these days? The acting in this movie was extraordinary. The love triangle plot was somehow the most intense I've ever seen. The culture of Japan was engrossing. The entire movie was just stunning and emotional - you could feel the intensity building until it burst. The strangest part logically was when Lucy went to see her ex-lover knowing that he had strangled Lily...also, a part of me was hoping Lucy and Lily would fall in love.

EARTHQUAKE BIRD is Netflix's most recent movie, an adaptation of a novel about a Westerner who moves to Japan and indulges in an affair before becoming involved with detectives investigating a mysterious disappearance. The plot setup is okay in itself and what keeps you watching is Alicia Vikander, who delivers a mature and at times intense performance as a girl suffering psychological trauma due to her situation. It's a film about character rather than plot, and therein lies the weakness; there simply isn't enough material to sustain the near two-hour running time. As a short it might have been effective, but at this length we're left with endless repetition and long, moody shots of not much in particular going on.