Review of Lust, Caution (2007) by Daniel K — 09 Feb 2009

This is a fairly sizable disappointment for me. Ang Lee is capable of stupendously beautiful, brilliant, and groundbreaking films (Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Brokeback Mountain, etc), but this is not his best effort.

He obviously cares a great deal about the subject, but the film feels a bit weighed down by its length and the narrative construction. It lacks the scope to demand a 150 minute plus running time. It doesn't grab ones attention and hold it throughout.

Still, the sets, costumes, and locations are superb and it is very nicely photographed, as all of Lee's films are. The strong point of the film has to be the performances. Tony Leung is probably one of the greatest and most watchable actors working today.

He always seems to have exactly what his characters require. This is a brilliant and complex performance that never gives away too much. One is constantly engaged with his character and never sure what he's thinking or feeling.

The same could be said of the female lead. Her emotions are not always easy to read, which is as it should be if she is acting her part as an agent. The rest of the cast is superb as well, if not equally brilliant.

The devil is in the details of the vehicles, the clothing, the chairs, the music, the food, the Mahjong, etc. Lee and company effectively transport the viewer back to this harsh and horrible world in which the characters find themselves.

One certainly does not envy them their lives though. There is no Hollywood ending here. Harsh and bittersweet. It is clear the film has the potential for greatness, but it manages to elude Lee despite what I'm sure are his best efforts.

Lee is no Wong Kar Wai.