Look at this absolute child! This wasn’t Tony Leung Chiu-wai’s very first project, but it was darn close, and it’s definitely the earliest thing I’ve ever seen him in. It’s a neat example of Leung’s acting incredibly early in his career.
Ah Lap is, above all else, a well-meaning boy. He worries about his sick mother and is constantly thinking about everything he has to do to help keep the family afloat. He’s not a troublemaker, but he’s easily led by his impulsive friend Chiu, who, for example, wheedles Ah Lap to help him cheat on tests. One night, a heated confrontation during a pick-up basketball game goes horribly wrong, and Ah Lap’s life is changed forever.
This is an odd little thing, whatever it is. From what I can tell, it’s a one-off half-hour TV drama – the YouTube channel I found it on also had episodes starring Andy Lau and Stephen Chow, similarly astoundingly young. Since the extent of my Honk Kong TV-viewing experience boils down to The Yangs’ Saga and this, I can’t speak much to that, but I do know that older TV in the U.S. had a greater variety of formats/specials/whatnot than we seem to get today, for all of our wide assortment of choices in this era of peak TV.
But anyway, onto Crossroads. It’s super after-school special, with Chiu as the textbook bad influence (albeit one who does that mainly through poor choices, not open rebelliousness) and the girl Ah Lap likes as the gentle voice of reason, stoically encouraging Ah Lap to do the right thing. The drama gets intense, both in the overall plot and within the acting. There’s a scene where Ah Lap throws himself against a chain-link fence and shakes it in pure angst. Yeah.
All of which is to say it’s rather underwritten and overdirected. Not terrible, but more than a stone’s throw from good. Still, it’s an interesting little curiosity, and as someone who enjoys watching shorts, it is nice to see it tell a compact, fairly complete drama in under 30 minutes.
Leung is our star here, playing the ill-fated Ah Lap. Certainly, he does everything he’s supposed to for this role. He gives us a boy who’s working really hard to help everyone and make everyone happy, who sees everything he cares about threatened by one really bad decision. The dialogue isn’t great and the whole episode is very much about overbaking the drama, not to mention Leung had only been acting professionally for maybe a year at this point, and he clearly still had a lot to learn.
It’s still interesting to see, though. You can see glimpses of Leung’s developing talent, especially in wordless shots. I’ve literally lost count of how many times I’ve waxed about Leung’s expressiveness or subtlety, and even though his performance here is very far from his best, you can still see the way there’s more going on in his face than is indicated through the script or the direction.
Recommend?
In General – Naw. It’s okay-ish, but not worth seeking out on its own.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai – Not a must, but big fans may be interested in it as a curiosity, just to see how far Leung’s acting has come or to be amazed at how young he is here.
Warnings
Violence and thematic elements.
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