LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE Review
Greed is human nature, and the theme of Johnnie To's latest, LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE. In this film, Hong Kong is portrayed as a greedy and heartless society, where people lie, steal and kill for (more) money. There is even a scene where bystanders watch the passing of a dying person on the street, with mobile phones in their hands busily recording everything (no doubt for posting onto YouTube when they get home).
Yes, it is dark, but it is also darkly comic. The story follows four main characters, including a police officer (Richie Jen), his wife (regular television actress Myolie Wu), a bank officer (singer Denise Ho) and gangster (To regular Lau Ching Wan). They are all seen to be struggling in one way or another, be it in their career, family or financial situations. When they cross paths, the different plotlines begin to tangle into an interestingly and intriguingly complex web. As these characters all eventually discover, much in life is totally out of their control and what happens in the end purely comes down to random chance. Ultimately, it is hard not to laugh at life's irony, as illustrated by this cleverly crafted film.
Of the four actors/actresses who play the main characters, the only one who stands out is the always reliable Lau Ching Wan (MAD DETECTIVE, RUNNING OUT OF TIME, A HERO NEVER DIES, OVERHEARD 1& 2). He plays Panther, a dim-witted, low-ranked gang member who shows strong loyalty towards his fellow gangsters, or as he calls them, 'sworn brothers'. Lau's performance is convincing and entertaining, with his mannerisms and facial expressions really helping to bring his character to life. Jen, Wu and Ho, on the other hand, give decent but not particularly impressive performances. Deserving a special mention, however, is the voice acting for the character played by Richie Jen, which is done to perfection by Stephen Au Kam Tong (OVERHEARD, ONCE A GANGSTER). Many of the supporting cast, such as Cheung Siu Fai, Tam Ping Man and Lo Hoi Pang, were seen in To's other films. As expected, their performances here are solid as usual.
Inevitable comparisons have been drawn between LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE and the recent Hong Kong hit OVERHEARD 2 because they share similar themes surrounding the stock market and financial crisis, but while OVERHEARD 2 is clearly the more commercial film, LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE is arguably more intelligent. Johnnie To does not disappoint often, and he manages to live up to his high standards here. While it may not be as intense as ELECTION; or as elegant as SPARROW; or as stylish as EXILED, LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE is easily Johnnie To's wittiest film in recent years.
LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Dream Movie. It is currently in its final week of showing in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland.
