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YESTERDAY
ONCE MORE (2004)
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
After
18 months that have seen Johnnie To reach a creative apex, it
was always inevitable that there would be a flawed production
which would bring him back down to earth. With 'Turn
Left, Turn Right', 'Running
On Karma' and 'Breaking
News' under his belt, it would've been unfair to his
contemporaries if he'd managed to produce another great work.
That 'Yesterday Once More' is so short of the said classics
speaks volumes about how accomplished To is at his best, but
it also acts as a reminder of the fact that even outstanding
film-makers can make mistakes.
Mr
and Mrs To (Lau and Cheng) are two of the most fiendish
thieves in Hong Kong having plundered valuable jewels from
wealthy families and priceless wines from collectors. After a
dispute arises as to how the fruits of the latest theft should
be split, Mr To announces that he wants a divorce and promptly
disappears. Shocked and upset, Mrs To decides to start a new
life and gets engaged to a wealthy socialite who promises her
anything if she marries him. She agrees as long as his
mother's priceless necklace is given to her, a request that
the loving fiancé agrees to. Mr To, however, is observing the
outcome of this faux romance and decides to steal the necklace
himself. What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse between the
former lovers.
With
Johnnie To in the director's chair and Hong Kong megastars
Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng starring as the leading couple, it
would be natural to assume that the audience was in for
another romantic comedy. 'Needing
You' and 'Love
On A Diet' had both been big hits with the critics and the
public alike, so tapping into this lucrative sub-genre seemed
like an obvious move. Despite the barrage of criticism Johnnie
To and his team should receive for this dreary film, at least
they did try something different instead of playing it safe.
Having made 'Throwdown'
as an homage to Kurosawa, it almost appears that 'Yesterday
Once More' is intended to mimic the charm and style of certain
Hitchcock films - any romance is kept strictly for the closing
thirty minutes of the production. This may or may not be a
tribute therefore, but the one very clear thing is that this
is vapid film-making.
The
major flaw apparent almost immediately is the
characterisation. To make a big-budgeted, commercial venture
like this with characters as obnoxious as they are is
cinematic hara kiri. Sammi Cheng plays a thoroughly
unpleasant, shallow, gold-digging 'heroine' who has the charm
of a leperous baboon while Lau fares only marginally better.
Cheng still seems to be riding the popularist wave of charisma
that she created in 'Needing You' and 'Love On A Diet' and
trying to use this allure to make Mrs To appealing. Such an
attempt fails miserably; Mrs To is irritating and as classy as
a 'Happy Shopper' carrier bag. Sammi Cheng needs to develop
her acting skills beyond the inane whining on offer her and
many of her other recent hits.
As
with the equally flavourless 'Marry
A Rich Man', 'Yesterday Once More' has a brief sojourn in
Italy (in this case Udine) to briefly stir the viewer. Seeing
Hong Kong actors in exotic European environments always adds a
moment of interest, even if it is transitory. Even when the
action is in Hong Kong, Johnnie To knows how to make the
locations look fresh and inviting. Cinematographer Cheng Siu
Keung utilises different lighting techniques and shooting
styles to make a very familiar locale look captivating. It is
even more unfortunate that the rest of the film is so bland.
The
lead characters are completely uninvolving and most of the
actors make no attempt to fight against the lacklustre
writing. Johnnie To then fills the background with 'quirky'
eccentrics who are meant to act as his calling card - that
would be fine if this was as entertaining as 'Running
Out Of Time', but it quite blatantly isn't. From a
constantly sniffing doctor to the bizarre and stomach-tuning
sight of seeing nearly every actress smoking a Cuban cigar,
this is To clutching at straws. As if Mr and Mrs To
(especially the latter!) were not off-putting enough, these
subsidiary characters then annoy in sufficient enough measure
to encourage the viewer to switch off.
'Yesterday
Once More' is a major error in Johnnie To's hitherto
accomplished career. He's made weak efforts before, but few
have squandered such resources in such a mind-numbing way.
While To deserves recriminations for 'Yesterday Once More',
there's little doubt in my mind that one of Hong Kong's most
important film-makers will return to form soon.
Rating:
  
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