philaychan
Joined Apr 2002
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Reviews7
philaychan's rating
Pale color background, 70's and 80's scene set-up, steady frame shot, constant tempo, dramatic directing and acting; the film is full of old day's sentiments, yet it's a story happening in the overwhelmingly prosperous year 2010. Such a misplacement to reflect the most confusing and unbreakable issue that is troubling everyone in the metropolis gives a strong implication of a totally turning upside down era where boundary between right and wrong doesn't exist anymore. Things realigned according to past social order cannot stand the wave of time change; social value, moral standard, principle are all becoming useless and destroyed. No matter how hard one tries to reset it, it's no more than a joke that nobody would pay attention.
As people are turning to a dead end corner, surprises might turn up to help. On the other hand, those who think they can figure out everything not losing a penny might not be as wise as they presume they are, or somehow be ruined by their wisdom. Lo and Keung thought they are the winner of the game; even though they persist until the last breath, their fatal ending wouldn't change. Denise Ho and Lau, playing honest roles ever, should have been the loser of the game, but thanks to an accident, they both live a decent life thereafter without spending an effort. It's not strange or new to see fate or coincidence happening to the characters in Johnny To's film, but being put in a world of misplacement, this time it looks more like an accident than it's under fate, leading to an even more absurd ending where the world is totally unpredictable that one can't reason it. Mankind relies on accident and luck to settle down, that is a laughable grief.
The film, however; doesn't seem to rule out hard work could bring return, at least Wong, the role of recyclable paper collector, has enough significance. Unfortunately just a while later we see an old working class having fallen under the fade-out group of the society trying to kill himself. The script is actually talking to itself debating over the subject. It even further elaborates by condemning through the characters' dialog. The most remarkable one is the confession by JJ Jia in the police station. Her brilliant acting has turned uncontrollably subconscious contradiction within into reasonable greed. What a marvelous demonstration of metropolis ridiculousness!
Sensibility might not win in this battle against absurdity. Richie Ren has been in a terribly confusing state struggling deeply within throughout the entire film. Not to mention the incidents he faces as a police inspector, he has yet to deal with a lot of personal problems such as his wife's persistence to purchase an apartment under the high market price, a seriously sick father and the sudden arrival of a younger sister by the mysterious wife of his father. These, however; are not dramatic enough to constitute irony effect, so the director has to arrange his wife coming to a sudden awakening by seeing him would die as the ending of the story. All these have come together too fast that Richie Ren is unable to react. He acts in such a slow-reflex way that has conveyed his thoughts of questioning "what's going on with my fate?" He rather believes it's all a coincidence. By taking away one's fate, he loses control over his life and all that left to him is coincidence. He has to pray for this for the rest of his life.
Although the script is full of condemns to reality, the director has remained himself as an outsider with a very calm view over what is happening. The shots are all apathetic, just like people ignoring what is happening around them every day. This metaphor is too good, really too good that it might need another accidental coincidence to wake up the audiences before they would even notice it.
As people are turning to a dead end corner, surprises might turn up to help. On the other hand, those who think they can figure out everything not losing a penny might not be as wise as they presume they are, or somehow be ruined by their wisdom. Lo and Keung thought they are the winner of the game; even though they persist until the last breath, their fatal ending wouldn't change. Denise Ho and Lau, playing honest roles ever, should have been the loser of the game, but thanks to an accident, they both live a decent life thereafter without spending an effort. It's not strange or new to see fate or coincidence happening to the characters in Johnny To's film, but being put in a world of misplacement, this time it looks more like an accident than it's under fate, leading to an even more absurd ending where the world is totally unpredictable that one can't reason it. Mankind relies on accident and luck to settle down, that is a laughable grief.
The film, however; doesn't seem to rule out hard work could bring return, at least Wong, the role of recyclable paper collector, has enough significance. Unfortunately just a while later we see an old working class having fallen under the fade-out group of the society trying to kill himself. The script is actually talking to itself debating over the subject. It even further elaborates by condemning through the characters' dialog. The most remarkable one is the confession by JJ Jia in the police station. Her brilliant acting has turned uncontrollably subconscious contradiction within into reasonable greed. What a marvelous demonstration of metropolis ridiculousness!
Sensibility might not win in this battle against absurdity. Richie Ren has been in a terribly confusing state struggling deeply within throughout the entire film. Not to mention the incidents he faces as a police inspector, he has yet to deal with a lot of personal problems such as his wife's persistence to purchase an apartment under the high market price, a seriously sick father and the sudden arrival of a younger sister by the mysterious wife of his father. These, however; are not dramatic enough to constitute irony effect, so the director has to arrange his wife coming to a sudden awakening by seeing him would die as the ending of the story. All these have come together too fast that Richie Ren is unable to react. He acts in such a slow-reflex way that has conveyed his thoughts of questioning "what's going on with my fate?" He rather believes it's all a coincidence. By taking away one's fate, he loses control over his life and all that left to him is coincidence. He has to pray for this for the rest of his life.
Although the script is full of condemns to reality, the director has remained himself as an outsider with a very calm view over what is happening. The shots are all apathetic, just like people ignoring what is happening around them every day. This metaphor is too good, really too good that it might need another accidental coincidence to wake up the audiences before they would even notice it.
The first 30 minutes of the film is really well intended and constructed - a dark side of the beautiful reality. Following the camera work, elements poured into the shots I have been expecting very twisted plot, terrific acting and directing. Natalie Portman's role gets warm up quickly and is already in full shape in the characters build-up. It should have been a great movie.
The trinity of Natalie Portman, Nina and Black Swan is a very interesting part and I'm not sure if this is the original idea of the director; if not, then he should thank Natalie Portman for being so intricate in herself and the character mix-up. She works very hard in that playing Nina as a great ballerina, just as hard as Nina trying to catch Black Swan spirit with her own White Swan blood. Pushing herself to the corner or the limit, Nina really gets no better way out to understand what Black Swan is actually about, though Thomas Leroy is using his "cheap" way to seducing her thinking this would make her let go what she's possessing. Natalie Portman is comparatively under a much more difficult state of mind than Nina as she has to figure out how to transform herself into a perfect Nina who in turn is eager to find another ego in herself helping her to be in the role of Black Swan. The difficulties Natalie Portman faces is the plot actually doesn't provide enough build-up and space for her to understand such a complicated state and so she has to rely much on her own imagination about the role where the movie or the screen play hasn't provided yet. To be fair, Natalie Portman has saved the movie.
It seems the director purposely trying to underline sex as the key point about Nina's let go. The way Thomas is speaking about Nina's deficiency in the play (the White Swan is perfect but the Black Swan isn't there) matches the director's underestimation of the character's intricacy, both are so simple in thinking and don't bother to give more thought into what Nina should be. If Thomas has let Nina work on her own how to find the Black Swan spirit, the director has left Natalie Portman alone in the movie struggling around the trinity relationship of herself, Nina & Black Swan. This sounds interesting enough though, as the duo of the director and Thomas versus the trinity of Natalie Portman, Nina and Black Swan succeeds in giving the movie a newer perspective which the audiences wouldn't have given much thought into it. Has it been an original idea of the director? I don't know but the movie really provides such an angle for me to look into it at least.
The movie begins in a very artistic way but it lasts not more than 30 minutes. It could have become a really "Dark" movie but it seems the director doesn't want it be that, so in the last 20 minutes he has turned the movie into a typical thriller. I particularly don't like the way Nina finishes off herself. She should have been really into Black Swan and ends up together with it. Now she's no more than a schizophrenic patient. It should have been more than that.
The trinity of Natalie Portman, Nina and Black Swan is a very interesting part and I'm not sure if this is the original idea of the director; if not, then he should thank Natalie Portman for being so intricate in herself and the character mix-up. She works very hard in that playing Nina as a great ballerina, just as hard as Nina trying to catch Black Swan spirit with her own White Swan blood. Pushing herself to the corner or the limit, Nina really gets no better way out to understand what Black Swan is actually about, though Thomas Leroy is using his "cheap" way to seducing her thinking this would make her let go what she's possessing. Natalie Portman is comparatively under a much more difficult state of mind than Nina as she has to figure out how to transform herself into a perfect Nina who in turn is eager to find another ego in herself helping her to be in the role of Black Swan. The difficulties Natalie Portman faces is the plot actually doesn't provide enough build-up and space for her to understand such a complicated state and so she has to rely much on her own imagination about the role where the movie or the screen play hasn't provided yet. To be fair, Natalie Portman has saved the movie.
It seems the director purposely trying to underline sex as the key point about Nina's let go. The way Thomas is speaking about Nina's deficiency in the play (the White Swan is perfect but the Black Swan isn't there) matches the director's underestimation of the character's intricacy, both are so simple in thinking and don't bother to give more thought into what Nina should be. If Thomas has let Nina work on her own how to find the Black Swan spirit, the director has left Natalie Portman alone in the movie struggling around the trinity relationship of herself, Nina & Black Swan. This sounds interesting enough though, as the duo of the director and Thomas versus the trinity of Natalie Portman, Nina and Black Swan succeeds in giving the movie a newer perspective which the audiences wouldn't have given much thought into it. Has it been an original idea of the director? I don't know but the movie really provides such an angle for me to look into it at least.
The movie begins in a very artistic way but it lasts not more than 30 minutes. It could have become a really "Dark" movie but it seems the director doesn't want it be that, so in the last 20 minutes he has turned the movie into a typical thriller. I particularly don't like the way Nina finishes off herself. She should have been really into Black Swan and ends up together with it. Now she's no more than a schizophrenic patient. It should have been more than that.
