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May (Brigitte Lin) embezzles a large sum of money from the
company she works at as a favour to her husband Sang (Tony
Leung Kar-Fai). What she doesn't know is that he's not planning
to return the money in time so that the transaction will go
unnoticed at her company. Sang has huge gambling debts and
uses up all the money to clear it. Desperate to loan money,
the couple travels to Thailand to seek funds from Sang's relative.
On the boat back, still without money to cover up the crime,
Sang sees his chance to make May the scapegoat when trying
to rescue her from falling off the boat. He lets her go and
she's presumed to have drowned. Or so he thought as a scarred
May soon surfaces in Hong Kong to witness the destruction
Sang has left behind him in her family...
Shaw
Brother's veteran filmmaker Sun Chung directed his last picture
for the studio in 1985 (The Master Strikes Back) before
they shut down feature film production and his move to Cinema
City resulted in this 1987 revenge drama. Sun had no qualms
about exploring the bleaker side of life in movies and Lady
In Black is a showcase worth admiring if you fancy watching
characters descend into pure hell. The fact that this was
also Law Gam-Fai first feature screenplay adds onto that and
he would be responsible for writing some of the harshest Category
III efforts of the 90s such as Love To Kill and Dr.
Lamb.
It's
very obvious that coming from such a well equipped studio
like Shaw's, Sun Chung wasn't about to let the film look absolutely
ordinary. While modern day 80s nowadays doesn't lend itself
to exhilarating visuals, Chung does give the frame a good
workout in terms of crane work and lightning.
The setup
for the revenge plot is actually an involving one or rather
the ultimate choices that come with it. It's a family situation
that turns out to be built on a foundation of shame and deceit
and in the middle is the devoted wife whose devotion basically
leads her nowhere. A true and punishing life lesson learned
when she's left to drown. The criminal, in this case the husband,
is definitely none to root for and Law Gam-Fai's script really
lays out perfectly to all the non-rational of the character
of Sang, both mentally and what he's prepared to do physically.
Mix all this up with the honed visual sense in our director,
in particular in how he uses slow-motion which is borderline
eerie in its execution, and Lady In Black delivers,
mostly in consistent passages but there are a few niggles
to talk about.
It is
truly the performers that carry the production in a large
way and it's when losing Brigitte Lin for way too long that
a sense of slow pace sets in. For what isn't much of a complicated
scenario, Sun tends to wrongfully stretch out the 90 minutes
and what's again really obvious when Lin finally is reintroduced,
is how much emotional impact she has on the film. The choices
her character has to face, whether to sacrifice all in life
to get her revenge is believable. Her entering the picture
again also makes the movie hit a terrific stride and comparisons
to Phantom Of The Opera becomes unavoidable although
I doubt that story seriously jolted the viewers this much.
Lin's scarring really leaves one with us as well and further
proof of her expressiveness as an actress comes due to the
fact that she doesn't have any dialogue for a critical section
of the film. Combine the chilling, almost horror-like atmosphere
and this really becomes top notch, bleak material for a while.
But it
is what takes place outside the main characters that never
quite gels and it's due to Sun Chung's rather awful handling
of melodrama. True, with Lin, the emotions feel genuine but
it's of the hysterical kind and the supporting cast are directed
way too over the top to make this thoroughly compelling drama.
Even in the relationship between Shek Kin's character and
the son of the family, Ming, warmth prevents to shine through,
due to their various physical contacts, which is a strange
critique to give.
Tony Leung Kar-Fai, an actor who only seems to get better
and better with every movie nowadays, does have many traits
to handle and his established skill is crucial to make the
character stand out, even somewhat. The vile, deceitful and
desperate character that is who clearly has come to a point
where nothing but fame and fortune matters anymore. And with
Sun Chung's directorial choices, it's a rather disturbing
portrait to follow at times. Chung also keeps the balance
perfectly clear, even in the violent but memorable finale.
I.e., no sympathy should ever exists for Sang. One just hope
he doesn't drag down too many people with him during his dive
into darkness...
Make
no mistake about it, Sun Chung's Lady In Black promises
early on to take us to hell and back and much hard hitting
violence within an at times beautiful frame makes at least
the main character arcs worthwhile to sit through. The always
game Brigitte Lin logs a fine and sympathetic performance
that few in all honesty I think knows about. Sun Chung's only
directed twice after this (one being City War, with
Ti Lung and Chow Yun-Fat) and it's a roster of bleak work
that's gone largely unnoticed until recent years. But with
the Shaw Brother's catalogue becoming available and these
budget releases, one doesn't have to look as hard anymore
thankfully.
The
DVD:
The cover above shows a redesign compared to what was initially
pressed by Deltamac. It does speak more to the actual mood
of the film now but I could've lived without the cheesy tagline...
The film is presented in a slightly overmatted 1.88:1 aspect
ratio approximately. Print is moderately worn and colours
are reasonable. Black levels are fair and really what you
have come to expect from older, non-remastered titles such
as this.
The Cantonese
Dolby Digital 2.0 track sounds clear in terms of effects and
dialogue. A Mandarin 2.0 dub is also included.
The English
subtitles has quite a few grammar errors but generally the
intent of the translation comes through. Traditional and simplified
Chinese subtitles are also included. There are no extras.
reviewed by Kenneth
Brorsson
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