GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW

A delicately wrought and beautiful tale of love, betrayal, honor, and hierarchy is shot through with mysticism and mystery, "Grass" is a rare find. Kevin Gray's nuanced performance as the wayward Lord Tokeo, fallen upon hard times in his search for fulfillment, really saves the day as Aiko Nakasone's plodding performance quickly becomes tedious. The choice to contrast the male with the female is a good one, but the director failed to fully do his job, scoring a winning performance with Gray while allowing Nakasone to sound as if she were reading to small children. A worthy and somewhat hypnotic listen, nonetheless, finely written. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]