"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Saturday, October 29, 2016

A Little TLC(w): People’s Hero (1987)


Back when I first started reviewing Peter Capaldi’s filmography, I opened with an‘80s film with “hero” in the title in which Capaldi played a major supporting role, so it’s fitting in a weird way that I’m going the same thing with Tony Leung Chiu-wai.  However, the two films couldn’t be more different.



When a bank is (very, very badly) robbed at close of business, the fumbling robbers wind up with an inadvertent hostage crisis on their hands.  They soon realize, however, that the situation is even more out-of-control – Sunny Koo, a far more experienced robber notorious for killing two police officers, happened to be in the bank at the time, and he hijacks both their robbery and their hostage crisis.  The police force outside the bank is divided on whether to give into Sunny’s demands for the sake of the hostages or satisfy their own desire to avenge their fellow officers who were killed.



This is a pretty neat film.  A lot of that is down to Sunny, a sharp gentleman robber who keeps everyone on their toes.  His behavior is elusive, and the hostages/other robbers can never tell if he’s going to offer them a cigarette and commiserate about women or establish a randomized method of deciding which one of them he should shoot to show the police he means business.  In this way, there’s a sense of almost absurd comedy that breaks in with his friendliness and nonchalant attitude with the hostages, but then the rug gets continually pulled out from under them, and us, when he turns ruthlessly pragmatic without warning.



But I’m here for Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who doesn’t play Sunny – far too many years ago for that.  Instead, Leung plays Sai, one of the original pair of doomed robbers.  You can tell neither he nor his partner really want to go through with it, and they nearly abort, but a last-minute mishap forces their hand.  As Sai then bites the bullet and commits to the robbery, his inexperience and terror is palpable.  He’s desperately trying to act like he knows what he’s doing, but he’s in way over his head.



I really enjoy this character.  Sai sympathetic in the midst of his epically bad choices, and I feel for him as he starts to suspect he’s thrown his life away in one afternoon.  He makes a nice foil for Sunny – there’s the strong contrast in their abilities, of course, but more importantly, Sai looks at Sunny like a window, seeing the dark actions it takes to be successful on this path.



I’m not familiar with Lung Ti, who plays Sunny, but he’s very good (a nice side benefit of these reviews will be getting to know other Hong Kong actors, particularly outside the context of Wong Kar-wai.)  Ronald Wong, who was in As Tears Go By, plays Sai’s partner in crime, and the other Tony Leung (Tony Leung Ka-fai, from Ashes of Time) is effective as a stressed police captain.



Recommend?



In General – If you’re a fan of crime/action movies, I’d say so.  The story feels like a fairly original twist on a classic scenario, and the interesting shifts in tone keep you on your toes.



Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Yes.  It’s a solid supporting role, and though Sunny Koo is a far more prominent character, Leung really brings Sai to life and draws your eye.



Warnings



Violence, smoking, and dark thematic elements.

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