Beyond Our Ken

Year:2004
Director:Pang Ho-Cheung
Cast:Gillian Chung Yun-Tung, Tao Hong, Daniel Wu, Jim Chim Sui-Man, James Wong Ka-Lok
Description:
Gillian Chung of Twins reveals hidden depths beneath
her squeaky-clean popstar persona in the refreshing
and darkly emotional Beyond Our Ken. Directed
by Edmond Pang , the
film details the burgeoning friendship between two
obvious romantic rivals: Ching , spurned
girlfriend of the eponymous Ken , and Shirley
, Ken's current flame.
The two girls meet when Ching approaches Shirley needing
help. Ken took some nude photos of Ching and posted
them on the Internet, and she wants them back. Since
Shirley currently has an in with Ken, she's the obvious
candidate for help. Yet why would the current girlfriend
wish to help the ex?
Simple reason: Ken is
an out-and-out snake, a fact proven with enough evidence
to fill a congressional committee report. Once Shirley
receives proof of Ken's Internet activities桟hing
shows her the photos online梥he agrees to help
Ching get the rest of the photos. The problem is how.
Ching has a key to Ken's place, but there's Ken's
somewhat ailing Grandmother to deal with, and a new
obstacle shows up at each and every turn. The girls
plot and plan, and their efforts make for some engaging,
energetically-told cinema. Beyond Our Ken is
told largely in handheld, verite-style camerawork
that resembles Wong Kar-Wai from his Chungking
Express days梕xcept with a much more loaded
plotline and less engaging emotions. The film does
have emotions that speak to us, but they're darker
and even more perverse. Ken may be a snake, but the
girls' duplicity isn't much to clap about either.
On one hand, their camaraderie is affecting stuff,
but since its mired in rather sordid emotions , you're always waiting for the
other shoe to drop. Which it does.
The Chinese title of
Beyond Our Ken translates as "Revenge
of a Princess", which is probably a bigger spoiler
than anything written in this review. Getting back
nude photos seems to be justice, but revenge requires
a whole other level of human darkness梬hich Edmond
Pang is only happy to dispense. People are more梠r
perhaps less梩han they seem, and that complexity
makes for a compelling narrative. One of the strengths
of Beyond Our Ken is how it gives understandable,
minute reasons for why everything is the way that
it is. Ching and Shirley compare notes on Ken's deplorable
habits , but the camera keenly captures other details,
like why Ken might have dumped Ching. Ken is not a
good guy, but even he can have issues of trust in
a relationship. He's still a snake, but the world
created is complex and real enough that he's not entirely
at fault.
Still, that reality
is both refreshing and problematic. Pang goes to great
lengths to portray the world in greys, but too much
grey can become a little muddled. When Beyond Our
Ken eventually reveals its darker underbelly,
it creates a whole new set of issues that aren't entirely
answered. Ching reveals darker edges beyond her victimized
exterior, but Shirley shows that she wasn't born yesterday,
either. The girls take on added dimensions, and Pang
reveals them in a way that almost seems be screaming
for attention. Rather than let the actresses and the
emotions punctuate Beyond Our Ken, Pang seems
determined to prove just how clever he and his script
are. Thanks to numerous flashbacks and criss-crossing
reveals, more is gleamed of the narrative, but the
ultimate payoff is a pearl of wisdom that can fit
in the palm of your hand. By providing the final verbal
summation on his intentions, Pang seems to be doing
the whole film a disservice.
However, the actresses
are excellent, and make the film's journey all the
more compelling. Gillian Chung brings both a charming
girlishness and an opaque resolve to Ching, and handles
her despondency with believable vulnerability. Chung
occasionally gives off the same sweet likability that
has characterized her earlier performances, but shows
far more than that here. Charlene Choi has previously
been referred to as the "more talented Twin";
maybe Beyond Our Ken will change that. Tao
Hong is just as impressive, though her character is
more problematic. Shirley's credibility as a character
suffers when the film starts with the minor plot twists,
but Tao never makes her seem less than real. Daniel
Wu brings loathsome self-absorption and a real charm
to Ken, and never appears to be a caricature. If a
Best Supporting Actor award had to be given
to Daniel Wu, it should have been for Beyond Our
Ken and not New Police Story.
The best thing about
Beyond Our Ken is it demonstrates Edmond Pang's
willingness to tell different stories and adopt different
filmmaking styles. After two witty and exaggerated
black comedies , Pang attempts a stylish, yet
emotionally real drama that relies less on dialogue
and more on action and actors. The end result seems
a mite self-satisfied, but this is an assured, admirable
effort by a director who should be allowed to make
whatever Hong Kong film he wants to. Hopefully Pang
won't get sucked into the commercial machine like
Wilson Yip , and will continue
to turn out films that possess wit, style, and smarts.
Beyond Our Ken may not be the best film of
2004, but really, there weren't many that were much
better.