Review of Lust, Caution (2007) by Brian W — 29 Mar 2009

I got into the characters and the acting of this movies, but then by the end I was left a little bit empty by it. By the end, neither of them were really redeemable characters, and I guess I was kind of an optimist and thought that she would be the one whose love would ultimately redeem his character, but that she would end up going through with it.

And the way it panned out, it kind of left him as basically unredeemably lost, and her as twisted. But the acting was exceptional, and the filmmaking absolutely solid. It was particularly surprising to see Tony Leung in such a vicious role, particularly being so used to him as the sensitive and heartbroken lovers in so many wong kar wai movies.

He was utterly convincing, and relentlessly evil despite the possibility of love for her. In any case, the whole film is carried by their exceptional acting. I didn't realize this was NC-17 either, that portion of their acting also excellent.