Review: In ‘Rental Family,’ it’s sympathy and compassion for hire — and sometimes a groom

Directed by Japan’s monomonikered Hikari, “Rental Family” — a beautifully moving and affably humorous story of human connection — kicks off with one funeral and culminates with another, demonstrating the evolution that our protagonist, Philip (Brendan Fraser), goes through during his personal journey between these two events.

The first funeral is a shock. Philip is a struggling actor in Tokyo, with one massively successful commercial as a toothpaste superhero mascot under his belt. His agent has booked him a gig as “Sad American,” a role he can easily play with his looming height, doleful eyes and a heart he wears on his sleeve. Late as usual, he dashes to check in for work and is shocked to stumble into a somber funeral. He’s even more shocked when the formally dressed corpse starts emotionally reacting to the tearful eulogies.

The scene is a marvel of revelation and reaction from Fraser and, in fact, much of the genius of his performance in “Rental Family” comes from his reactions, especially as he discovers the weird and wonderful new job he’s landed.

In the screenplay by Hikari and Stephen Blahut, Philip finds himself working for Tada (Takehiro Hira), who runs a company called Rental Family that’s hired by clients to provide staff to role-play in various real-world scenarios — the fake funeral, for example, or as a mistress apologizing to a spurned wife or just for friendship. Philip’s first role is quite complex: He plays a Canadian man getting married to a young Japanese woman in a show wedding for her conservative parents. She’s queer and needs an out in order to be with her real partner. Philip, who is earnest and honest to a fault, chafes at the lie but soon realizes that he’s helping someone to live their authentic life, so he throws himself into it.

Rental Family’s service is all about maintaining Japanese values of propriety and politeness through performance, and the little (or big) white lies are manipulations to get what the clients want: an apology, companionship, love, admiration, closure. Philip’s most challenging high-wire act proves to be posing as the long-lost American father of a shrewd and emotionally intelligent young girl, Mia (Shannon Mahina Gorman), in order to secure her school admission. Both Philip and Mia’s mom (Shino Shinozaki), the client, soon realize that it’s much more complicated than just pretending to be a nuclear family for a school interview.

While playing daddy, Philip also juggles a role as a curious journalist profiling an aging, iconic (but largely forgotten) screen actor, Kikuo (Akira Emoto), from whom he learns surprising lessons about life, memory and legacy. He finds himself deeply connecting with these people, young and old, and learning from them, while becoming tangled in their lives.

Empathy pours off Fraser in waves, which is what made his Oscar-winning performance in “The Whale” work. Hikari channels that quality to good use in “Rental Family” but never oversteps. The film is sweet and affecting, never treacly or overly sentimental. She knows how to balance humor and poignancy, to allow Philip to be a grown man with his own needs and peccadilloes and mistakes, though we never question his motivations because of the inherent goodness that radiates off Fraser.

Hikari’s naturalistic style perfectly suits this story. The Tokyo that she showcases is one of quotidian everyday life, not the futuristic neon city that an outsider might capture. Hers is one of small, cramped apartments, karaoke bars, public transit, hotels, temples and schools. It’s a world occupied by normal people who sometimes need a little help, a little push to get the things they want in life. Philip is there to provide that service even though he’s also in need of his own connection to others.

But it’s the mishaps along the way that actually help Philip to grow. By the time we get to the second funeral, we see how much he has bloomed. Fraser has an openness to his expression that’s like a flower unfolding, beaming in the sunlight of recognition and personal fulfillment. As an actor, Fraser’s second act has been a sight to behold. He’s the emotional anchor of this life-affirming and quietly resonant film about the importance of being together — a movie that announces Hikari as a major talent.

Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.