Rick Shaw

Last Saturday night, I went to Lust, Caution at The Ross. It is directed by Ang Lee and stars Tony Leung and Wang Tei (in her film debut). I think it's appropriately rated NC-17 for some violence in their sex scenes. I enjoyed the film and part of my pleasure in it is that it embraces emotional ambiguities. Tony Leung is strong as ever (see 2046, Infernal Affairs, In the Mood for Love, Hero), and Wang Tei carries her hefty part of the film quite capably. My Jeffery Wright (actor with small part but huge presence) for this film is Anupam Kher, who plays the jeweler.

I saw Michael Clayton with George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, and Tom Wilkinson when it came out, and both that film and Lust, Caution start in medias res and then go back to the start. I like this technique. I think it works because it hopefully grabs you at the beginning, and then keeps you hooked as you anticipate the event and the development of the characters to reach that scene. It is also effective because you get to understand the scene with new light the second time, and hopefully more meaning is wrapped into it, yet the film has the untying remaining.

Ha Sorajjakool