Review of In the Mood for Love (2000) by Zachary D — 29 Jan 2010

Beautiful tale of lovelorn anguish.

In The Mood For Love (2000) - 8.3/10.

Director - Wong Kar-Wai.

Cast - Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Lai Chin, Rebecca Pan, Siu Ping-Lam.

"In The Mood For Love" focuses on two couples that rent adjacent rooms in a cramped apartment building. Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung) works as a secretary. Her husband works for a Japanese company and is away for weeks on business trips. Her neighbor Chow (Tony Leung) works at a newspaper. His wife is also frequently out-of-town. The two strike up a friendship. Chow eventually suspects their respective spouses may be having an affair which draws him and Li-zhen closer. Chow and Li-zhen begin to fall in love while trying to maintain their marital vows.

I'll admit I was underwhelmed by the first two Wong Kar-Wai films I saw. However the high praise "In The Mood For Love" has recieved convinced me to finally see this film, and I'm glad I did. The film is deliberately paced and it did not immediatly draw me in. However the more involved Chow and Li-zhen became, the more absorbing the story became. In fact coupled with the vivid colors and amazing camera work it became downright intoxicating. As much about loneliness as it is about love, there is something beautifully hypnotic about the film.

Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are both excellent, but the real stars of the film are cinematographers Christopher Doyle and Pin Bing Lee. Such a subtle story would not work without such evocative imagery. Doyle and Lee manage to create beauty in the most unlikely places. A crowded room, an abandoned alley, or cramped offices. Simply brilliant work.