Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Lust | Caution : Movie Review

I've been wanting to write mini reviews of books & movies, as much for my own reference as for the rest of the world. What better place to start than a movie I have very little to say about?

Lust | Caution is made based on a short story and they should have left it that way. Short. Despite all the talent that went into the movie, it didn't have material for 159 minutes of screenplay.

When the movie started, I was very happy to see Tony Leung, whose acting has the right amount of depth, clarity and restraint for me. I remembered him as an engaging actor from In the Mood for Love. Come to think of it, this movie feels like it tries to achieve the moody poetic feel of In the Mood for Love, but falls short. The plot feels stretched thin. The story is believable but predictable. The opening scene is from the present and then the movie goes back 4 years into the past, so perhaps suspense isn't what they were aiming for. I will summarize this as a well-acted, boring movie.

For those of you who like Tony, I recommend In the Mood as well as ChungKing Express. The sequel to In the Mood (2046) didn't do too much for me.

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