RUNNING OUT OF TIME
(Siren/Chinatown Video)
Reviewed by Jonathan
Marshall
This slow burn thriller from old-school HK director Johnnie
To is both a surprising, and remarkable release. Superficially
everything is as in a typical, above-average HK action flick. Beautiful,
glossy cinematography frequently drops to the night-time blue hues that HK
directors are so enamoured of, in part echoing the ubiquity of neon and
reflected signs in To's frame. A standard opening scenario quickly
introduces us to the lovable but incompetent boss of our nerves-of-steel
hero, while the fascination of these films for homosocial relationships
across the battle-lines is soon established. Officer Ho and the criminal
Cheung develop a sense of empathy and mutual respect as they engage in
ever more complex games. The amazing thing about Out of Time
however is that even though this conventional pattern drives the actual
narrative, it has almost nothing to do with the mood and ambience. Out
of Time is rather one of the latest in what is becoming a sub-genre of
films depicting HK as a city of dreams, of isolated individuals who
through randomly brushing against each other generate magic and romance (Beast
Cops is another, over the top example). Consequently even though To's
cinematography is very different, the feel of Out of Time is most
comparable to Wim Wenders' landmark Wings of Desire.
To is best known for crazy fantasy flicks like The
Heroic Trio, but Out of Time is on the contrary superlatively
understated, with clipped dialogue and a slow, lingering use of the
camera. Even Lau Ching Wan (Full Alert)
- renowned for a vocal ferocious style equal to Anthony Hopkins' -
is restrained, while Andy Lau (The Adventurers and countless
other films) has never looked so good. Andy Lau has all of the
iconic, clean-jawed, silent beauty of Keanu Reeves, but without the
somewhat vacuous, superficial character of his US counterpart. Lau's
gentle grace and softly spoken depth makes it eminently believable when a
woman he briefly abducts on a bus to play the part of his girlfriend ends
up falling for him. This kind of unlikely soap-opera emotional tone is
rendered so simply and honestly that it is genuinely beautiful. The main
song from the score moreover employs an almost bagpipe-like, mystic drone
to impart a sense of spirituality and divine destiny. Do not be fooled by
the deceptive generic placing of Out of Time - this is a rare,
beautiful, subtle film.
© 2000 Jonathan Marshall
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