Review of In the Mood for Love (2000) by Lauren L — 21 Sep 2009

The storyline was uninteresting and dragged for too long. I thought the main characters' relationship with each other lacked affection and was unexciting, with the threat of exposure being unconvincing. Not just the ending of their relationship but the whole secret affair was depressing rather than tragic or evocative.

I also thought the recurring motif of slow motion action (though graceful in places) with the slow sober music was very effective during one or two scenes but it was repeated too often and lost its edge. As soon as the same music started you recognised it immediately and it quickly became annoying.

However, even though I recognised Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu Wai from "Hero" I still can't believe this film was actually made in 2001, I was utterly convinced that it had been made in the sixties. The mise en scene, titles and subtitles and general atmosphere was much more convincing than the characters.

I'll still keep my eyes open for "2046" though.