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Cast:
Jordan
Chan
Patrick
Tam
Sunny
Chan
Ng
Hing-Kwok
Crystal
Lui
Producer:
Johnnie
To
Director:
Derek
Chiu
Score:
 
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COMEUPPANCE
AKA:
Come Uppance
Year:
2000 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
One
of the pleasures of being faced with a film from the Milkyway
stable is that you're never quite sure what you'll get. In
1999 the company's outstanding productions were the box-office
hits 'Running
Out Of Time' and 'The
Mission', both of which were also huge critical triumphs.
Then the year 2000 brought the romantic comedy 'Needing
You' to theatres and gave the local film-making economy
another monster hit. Also made in that year was 'Comeuppance',
a crime drama that again shows how Milkyway Productions never
regurgitate previous successes for their audience. Instead
they take pride in the variety of the films that have their
logo.
When
a major crime boss is poisoned in a local bar, the police are
called in to make some kind of sense of the incident. Michael
(Sunny Chan), the officer in charge of the investigation,
quickly perceives that the poison used was cyanide and then
begins to probe deeper into the crime. The mystery surrounding
the murder inspires newspaper reporter Hak (Jordan Chan) to
write a series of fictional articles based around a vigilante
poisoner. These articles gain a cult following around Hong
Kong and count the killer himself as one of its regular
readers. The killer, Sung (Tam) is strangely similar to the
fictional version; both are fairly harmless individuals who
are persuaded into this law-breaking lifestyle by the
prevalence of crime in the city. As the police appear to be
clueless as to who could be responsible for the murder, Sung
finds himself targeting other triad leaders and utilising the
techniques he's reading about in the newspaper serial. Michael
and Hak begin to see a pattern emerging in the next few
poisonings and agree to pull together their resources to catch
the murderer. However, the underworld are also keen to find
their hunter and mete out their own punishment.
It's
not an easy task comparing 'Comeuppance' to any one specific
film; the minimalism and black humour evident in the film
recalls 'The Mission' and the well-plotted, gradual pacing
tends to mimic 'Clean
My Name, Mr. Coroner', but this excellent feature is quite
unlike either. There is hardly any action in the traditional
sense of the word and it therefore differs quite radically
from other Milkyway productions. In its place is a tightly
written screenplay, solid direction from Derek Chiu and an
impressive set of characters. Each of the three main
characters are created in a subtle manner which means that,
despite their differing backgrounds and motives, each is
sympathetic on screen. Praise for this needs to be given to
director Chiu for allowing the running time to develop this
quality and the trio of watchable actors that make this vision
reality. Jordan Chan is on fine form as the nervy journalist
Hak; Chan shows once again how versatile he can be and how he
remains a firm hope for the Hong Kong film-making future.
Having
given necessary credit to the director and leading players, it
is still challenging to think of what makes this such an
absorbing film. The style and substance of 'Comeuppance' are
in well-balanced equilibrium as neither overtakes the other,
but there is still something indefinable that proves to be
obvious by the time the credits roll. Although not easy to
describe, this is a quirky gem that is definitely recommended
viewing.
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