I'm compelled to write a review on this flick, seeing as it's gotten such a bad name here on IMDb. CONTAINS SERIOUS SPOILERS.
If you walked into this movie to watch a psycho-thriller or get a heaping dose of crime drama, you got it in spades. But if you hadn't expected that Chinese mob activities involved serious, brutal violence, or that a serial-killer like Hasford didn't do 'improper things' with his victims and that offended you, then you need to do some reading on ANY mob-activities and EVERY serial-killer profile--without pictures, saving your delicate sensibilities.
If you walked into this movie knowing that it involved a serial killer that made art out of his victim's bodies in a grotesque, terrifying manner, and that Kline's too-personal involvement over two years with the case had him go entirely mad, again, you got it in spades. But if you hadn't expected the blood (which is really quite ignorant, considering the first stills released showcased Hartnett covered from head-to-toe in blood) or couldn't see past what you'd call "OMG gratuitous nudity!" for what it really was: Kline's difficulty and outright inability to view any human form, especially women, as normal (after all, at no point does he engage sexual activity with any woman in the film, even the one he rented?)? Then you've got serious issues with that very human body. Considering the fact that there are only two scenes in which breasts are displayed, it doesn't EARN gratuity. The point of the nudity goes well beyond objectifying; the nudity, to Kline, is back at Hasford's, where he got the chance to see a bulging, unnatural sculpture made out of a pair of breasts.
Defenses made aside, this movie is more a sound and light production, created to stimulate the viewer's movie-watching experience. The music goes from ethereal and hypnotizing to jarring in all appropriateness, capturing the mood from scene-to-scene. And when it comes to characters, we're not listening to stilted conversation between Affleck and J-Lo, with drab backgrounds and meaningless characters wandering in and out. Everyone has their place, from Kline's trying to redeem himself for his killing and mutilating Hasford... well, a la Hasford, to the psychotic Hasford himself, to Shitao's constant self-sacrifices to the point of serious injury in order to save others from death. Onto Meng Zi, a good friend to Kline but an easily-frustrated, ruthless cop, then Dongpo's extreme indifference to his violent ways to the point where his beloved Lili falls headfirst into them.
If you're actually paying attention, it's not hard at all to follow. Each person has a story; even with the gory violence that Dongpo puts out, there are times when you feel for him. Despite Shitao's mutilated, torn-up body, as Lili tells him, he's 'beautiful'. And watching Kline's descent back into obsessive, over-detailing behavior, going so far as to make 'sculptures' out of the many police pictures documenting Shitao's injuries in a strange, maddening method of 'getting to know him' is overwhelmingly compelling. As a whole, the story is about Kline's mind and how it's trying to work everything out, his desperation to steer clear of insanity when really, he should quit the detective act and take up basket-weaving to save his sanity. Despite the "happy ending", one can hope he does just that. It's not that he's failed, it's that he's seen too much. So to assume that the film is too jumpy or confusing is to say that you didn't understand where it was coming from in the first place.
There ARE, however, some confusing bits. We can assume that the woman that Meng Zi gets with is a prostitute, but it's never explicitly explained. He's appeared as a relatively with-it guy, with the usual flaws, but--a prostitute? Who is she? We never get told. The black eye he shows up with not long after his time with her, again, a WTF? While one can understand that Lili is romantically tied to Dongpo, I can say that no matter how much I love my husband, I'd be a titch peeved if he killed a close friend of mine. Instead, she goes back with him instead of shunning him--another odd occurrence.
I give this movie 9 out of 10, which would've been a 10 were it not for the things listed in the above paragraph. Otherwise, it's a fantastic, stimulating film which depicts terrible monsters that are still, deep down, human. If you've seen this and didn't like it, either watch it more carefully next time or rent 'Pearl Harbor'. Though I'm sure Hartnett himself would advise you to do the former.
If you walked into this movie to watch a psycho-thriller or get a heaping dose of crime drama, you got it in spades. But if you hadn't expected that Chinese mob activities involved serious, brutal violence, or that a serial-killer like Hasford didn't do 'improper things' with his victims and that offended you, then you need to do some reading on ANY mob-activities and EVERY serial-killer profile--without pictures, saving your delicate sensibilities.
If you walked into this movie knowing that it involved a serial killer that made art out of his victim's bodies in a grotesque, terrifying manner, and that Kline's too-personal involvement over two years with the case had him go entirely mad, again, you got it in spades. But if you hadn't expected the blood (which is really quite ignorant, considering the first stills released showcased Hartnett covered from head-to-toe in blood) or couldn't see past what you'd call "OMG gratuitous nudity!" for what it really was: Kline's difficulty and outright inability to view any human form, especially women, as normal (after all, at no point does he engage sexual activity with any woman in the film, even the one he rented?)? Then you've got serious issues with that very human body. Considering the fact that there are only two scenes in which breasts are displayed, it doesn't EARN gratuity. The point of the nudity goes well beyond objectifying; the nudity, to Kline, is back at Hasford's, where he got the chance to see a bulging, unnatural sculpture made out of a pair of breasts.
Defenses made aside, this movie is more a sound and light production, created to stimulate the viewer's movie-watching experience. The music goes from ethereal and hypnotizing to jarring in all appropriateness, capturing the mood from scene-to-scene. And when it comes to characters, we're not listening to stilted conversation between Affleck and J-Lo, with drab backgrounds and meaningless characters wandering in and out. Everyone has their place, from Kline's trying to redeem himself for his killing and mutilating Hasford... well, a la Hasford, to the psychotic Hasford himself, to Shitao's constant self-sacrifices to the point of serious injury in order to save others from death. Onto Meng Zi, a good friend to Kline but an easily-frustrated, ruthless cop, then Dongpo's extreme indifference to his violent ways to the point where his beloved Lili falls headfirst into them.
If you're actually paying attention, it's not hard at all to follow. Each person has a story; even with the gory violence that Dongpo puts out, there are times when you feel for him. Despite Shitao's mutilated, torn-up body, as Lili tells him, he's 'beautiful'. And watching Kline's descent back into obsessive, over-detailing behavior, going so far as to make 'sculptures' out of the many police pictures documenting Shitao's injuries in a strange, maddening method of 'getting to know him' is overwhelmingly compelling. As a whole, the story is about Kline's mind and how it's trying to work everything out, his desperation to steer clear of insanity when really, he should quit the detective act and take up basket-weaving to save his sanity. Despite the "happy ending", one can hope he does just that. It's not that he's failed, it's that he's seen too much. So to assume that the film is too jumpy or confusing is to say that you didn't understand where it was coming from in the first place.
There ARE, however, some confusing bits. We can assume that the woman that Meng Zi gets with is a prostitute, but it's never explicitly explained. He's appeared as a relatively with-it guy, with the usual flaws, but--a prostitute? Who is she? We never get told. The black eye he shows up with not long after his time with her, again, a WTF? While one can understand that Lili is romantically tied to Dongpo, I can say that no matter how much I love my husband, I'd be a titch peeved if he killed a close friend of mine. Instead, she goes back with him instead of shunning him--another odd occurrence.
I give this movie 9 out of 10, which would've been a 10 were it not for the things listed in the above paragraph. Otherwise, it's a fantastic, stimulating film which depicts terrible monsters that are still, deep down, human. If you've seen this and didn't like it, either watch it more carefully next time or rent 'Pearl Harbor'. Though I'm sure Hartnett himself would advise you to do the former.