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WHATEVER
WILL BE, WILL BE (1995)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
Perhaps
I'm getting soft in my old age or maybe I've always had a
forgiving streak in me for such films. Either way, I found
myself strangely drawn to this 'show must go on' drama despite
its obvious emotional manipulations. Perhaps I was in the mood
for such a production or maybe, just maybe, it is actually a
well made film with modest, but achievable ambitions.
Lee
(Chen) manages to get a prestigious job at a strict boarding
school teaching performing arts, but finds that the
authorities are keeping a close eye on her work with the
pupils. Lee is faced with the usual assortment of troubled and
misunderstood children and is given the onerous task of
preparing them for a school choir competition. Taking these
raw materials and turning them into a successful choir proves
to be a challenging task though Lee finds the physical
education teacher (Kwok) is more than willing to lend
assistance. While the choir gradually takes shape, the young
teacher is also given the opportunity to appear in a new
musical that will catapult her to stardom. Lee now has to
choose between her dream to become a dancer and the responsibility
she feels towards the children.
The
idea of the inspirational teacher guiding a class of misfits
has passed into the realms of cliché. Hollywood has used it
for decades and even the new hit French film 'Les Choristes'
has taken the same elements and blended them together in a
very slightly different way. Using a storyline that almost
creates a groan of contempt when the premise is read needs a
director and cast to elevate it above expectations.
Thankfully, Jacob Cheung is a film-maker who is polished
enough to fit the bill and therefore take a tired idea and
inject some life into it. As Cheung has shown in his varied
career, a well developed set of appealing characters can cover
over a multitude of narrative sins and obvious emotional
flirtations.
Jacob
Cheung's 'The
Kid' is an example of how well the director side-steps
saccharine-drenched histrionics in a bid to put some genuine
pathos into the storyline. While 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be'
is not a superlative example of the technique - certainly far
less assured than 'The Kid' - it is at least able to entertain
throughout its duration. Such sub-plots as the bullied young
girl Jojo's entry into the choir is a perfect summary of how
the film succeeds; with a pair of ludicrous plastic ears taped
to her head to elicit sympathy, Jojo enters the film as an
obvious plot device, but the skill of the actress playing her
means that I actually did feel
saddened by her plight. Kelly Chen and Aaron Kwok are also
endearing enough in their respective roles to make their
friendship a necessary cog in the films workings. Though
neither Chen or Kwok have the range to always convince in more
complicated parts, here both of them are adept at working with
the young cast.
'Whatever
Will Be, Will Be' is an unusual film to recommend as it is so
anchored to convention that it initially seems to have little
to differentiate it from the many other similarly themed
films. Jacob Cheung, though, is the kind of director who can
turn such unpromising material into something slightly more
palatable and 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be' benefits from his
attention. Add to Cheung's craft a cast who perform well
enough to help even the hard-hearted forgive the blatant
stereotypes used and this becomes a more intriguing
proposition.
Rating:
  
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