Mad Detective

Year:2007
Director:Johnnie To Kei-Fung, Wai Ka-Fai
Cast:Lau Ching-Wan, Andy On Chi-Kit, Kelly Lin, Gordon Lam Ka-Tung, Lau Kam-Ling, Lam Suet, Eddie Cheung Siu-Fai, Flora Chan Wai-Shan, Eddy Ko Hung, Wong Wah-Ho, Jo Koo
Description:
Has it really been ten years
since Johnnie To's Milkyway Image production company
burst on the scene, infusing new life into Hong Kong
Cinema and possibly salvaging the territory's international
reputation as kings of the crime genre film? Obviously,
that question is rhetorical. With a decade of good-to-sublime
Hong Kong Cinema behind them, Milkyway unveils their
latest creation, Mad Detective, delivered to
Hong Kong Cinemas like the icing on the proverbial birthday
cake. Mad Detective has Milkyway goodness oozing
out of its pores, beginning with directors Johnnie To
and Wai Ka-Fai, who first teamed under the Milkyway shingle
ten years ago with Too Many Ways To Be
No. 1. Add appearances by a number of Milkyway regulars,
some familiar themes and motifs, and a plot mixing crime
thrills and wonky Milkyway musings, and you have Hong
Kong's most enjoyable genre experience this year. Just
make sure that your tolerance for arch wackiness is
strong.
Reigning Hong Kong Film Award
Best Actor Lau Ching-Wan stars as Bun, a police inspector
whose methods are more than a little off-the-wall. Bun
investigates crimes through bizarre role-playing, like
stabbing a dead pig to simulate a bloody murder, or
zipping himself into a suitcase and getting thrown down
the stairs to understand the inner workings of someone
who got thrown down the stairs while trapped in a suitcase.
Besides being amusing and quirky to watch, the odd methods
seem to work, as detailed in an opening montage of newspaper
clippings celebrating Bun's success at solving crimes.
However, the success train ends abruptly. Rookie detective
Ho joins Bun on the force, but only gets to
work with him for a few days because Bun hands a very
strange gift to his retiring superior officer , earning himself a quick discharge from the force
on the grounds that he's more than just an eccentric
detective, he's also crazy one. Hence the title of the
film.
The action picks up a few years
later after the disappearance of a police officer. Ho
is on the case, but he can't seem to crack it, and the
trail has gone cold. Needing help, he turns to Bun,
who he considers to be his idol. Bored of his current
inactivity, Bun quickly shows a desire to help, but
his harried wife protests. Bun joins up
with Ho anyway, but once Bun is back on the job, Ho
starts to have a few reservations. For one thing, he
learns Bun's true power: Bun can see a person's "inner
personality", which takes the form of another person
entirely. What this means is that Bun can see and hear
people that others can't, and since he reacts to these
people physically, normal people look at him like he's
a total loon. After gleaming this info, Ho begins to
doubt Bun, and as the case progresses, he begins to
wonder if Bun's eccentricity - not to mention his increasingly
erratic behavior - isn't leading him down the wrong
path. And, since the suspect in the missing police officer
case reportedly possesses no fewer than seven inner
personalities, the stakes are raised precipitously.
Is this case Bun's redemption, or has he officially
gone completely bonkers?
Mad Detective received
international press due to Johnnie To, but this exercise
in screwy Buddhist indulgence has Wai Ka-Fai's fingerprints
all over it, too. The idea that Bun can see another
person's "inner personalities" is a very clever hook,
and feels like the type of fantastic element Wai has
injected into past To-Wai efforts. Adding to the familiarity
is the fact that many of the inner personalities are
essayed by Milkway regulars, such as Lam Suet and Eddie
Cheung. However, the device also requires a leap by
the audience, as they have to accept the ridiculous
visual idea of seven people walking down the street
in place of one, or seven people crammed into a small
car instead of just one. The camera's perspective shifts
constantly from Bun's to everyone else's, meaning characters
change appearance without warning. One instant we see
Lam Suet , the next it's
Eddie Cheung Lau Kam-Ling
, or more in
place of the actual suspect, portrayed with sweaty amorality
by Gordon Lam. The switching characters and perspectives
keeps the audience on their toes, and the effect is
that it can either draw one in or alienate them. Mad
Detective makes the audience work, and some people
may throw up their hands at all the extra effort and
say, "Screw this! This movie makes no sense!" They would
not be entirely wrong.
Then again, movies can be effective
even if they don't make logical sense, and the best
of the Milkyway canon have managed to elicit unexpected
emotions in the most unlikely, and even illogical of
ways. Mad Detective resembles Running on Karma
in that it takes the odd and frankly unexplainable and
sells it not through a logical explanation, but through
creative, unexpected usage. Mad Detective takes
a fantastic premise - that a person can see the emotions
and inner voices of others, which makes him appear mad
- and uses it to explore complex emotions,
as well as the moral choices people make simply
to get along in the world. Even though
this movie is about cops and crimes, it seems to be
more concerned with who people are rather than what
they will do. Bun's powers aren't used to solve cases
as much as they're used to see how petty, two-faced,
insecure, and awful people can be in the course of regular
human lives. The result is a curious genre
film where the greatest tension arises from whether
or not people will overcome their own internal weakness
and remain honest to themselves. This isn't your average
crime thriller.
But it's a very welcome one
due to its uncommon, fascinating ideas, and also because
of its lead actor. Nothing says "Happy Birthday" to
Milkway Image better than an appearance by Lau Ching-Wan.
For most of Milkyway's ten years, Lau was the company's
main performer, appearing in nearly every other Milkyway
production before taking a break after My Left Eye
Sees Ghosts in 2002. The embargo ends with Mad
Detective, and Lau turns in a vintage performance,
manic and affected, but with discernible pathos and
empathy. Lau's weathered, grizzled look speaks volumes,
and his character's puzzling "madness" is both charismatic
and repellent. Mad Detective features compelling
characters in that they seem not unlike us, with inner
voices nudging them to do good or bad things, the consequences
of which are unexpected and sometimes damning. The lone
unconvincing character is Andy On's Ho, whose fragility
seems odd considering that his character chooses to
partner with an unstable ex-detective with bizarre methods.
Also, On is somewhat distant in the role, though when
Mad Detective finally ends, his character's purpose
is clear.
Like in Election 2,
the ultimate reveal in Mad Detective isn't a
"wow", it's more like a "man, that kind of bites" feeling
that can stick with a person long after the final frame
of the film. If the audience buys in, the film is a
rarity: a multi-layered genre film that grows richer
upon reflection or successive viewings. Also, the film
has some real-world connection, as its flawed characters
and their conniving inner personalities is a concept
that could strike a chord with anyone who has conflicted
emotions once in a while. There's plenty to chew on
in Mad Detective, and the multiple layers of
the film allows for a good deal of post-viewing examination.
Viewers can perceive numerous interpretations from the
film's content, and there may not be a definite correct
answer. Basically, cinema pseudo-intellectuals can have
a field day with this one. The downside is that the
whole thing can play as rather ridiculous, and Johnnie
To and Wai Ka-Fai seldom attempt to ingratiate themselves
with the audience. Many of the odd and even humorous
details don't really seem necessary, and could be perceived
as empty details meant to add needless quirkiness.
Not that this is a new M.O.
from Milkyway; these are clever guys, and their particular
brand of self-amusement has earned plenty of accepting
fans. Mad Detective will obviously play best
to the initiated fan who's used to the usual Milkyway
signifiers of stone-faced irony, deadpan quirkiness,
arch repetition, and mild misogyny. For the uninitiated,
Mad Detective may be a tougher sell, as its twists
and turns come with an opacity that can sometimes prove
maddening to those who like things spelled out for them.
Milkyway films sometimes say volumes with what isn't
being said - which can lose a great many viewers, even
those who love everything these guys do. Still, regardless
of meaning or intent, the style and emotions that Johnnie
To and Wai Ka-Fai elicit can be compelling and even
intoxicating, such that one is entertained and enthralled
even if they aren't fully sure what's happening. Sometimes,
enjoying a Milkyway Image film can happen through pure
instinct. I may not be able to fully explain or justify
why I like Mad Detective, but my inner personality tells me it's pretty
damn good.