How does one follow up an Oscar-nominated film about two cowboys who fall in love? For director Ang Lee, the answer is to make an NC-17-rated movie about an underground Chinese revolutionary coup.
While both films are famous for their sex scenes, “Lust, Caution” still does not seem like the obvious successor to “Brokeback Mountain.” But Lee, with a career pock-marked with both critical darlings and astonishing disappointments (“The Hulk”), has never followed the beaten path.
While Lee’s films are elegant, expertly crafted works, his artisanship can at times alienate the viewer by overintellectualizing his subjects. It is ironic that a man criticized for imbuing the Hulk with too much emotion could create a film that is so painfully lacking in feeling.
Although “Lust, Caution” has all the trappings to be great ““ solid acting, great production values, a story replete with political intrigue and romantic deceit ““ it ultimately feels bloodless; the film woefully lacks emotion.
Set in Shanghai during World War II, “Lust, Caution” revolves around Wong Chia Chi (television actress Tang Wei), a college student who becomes involved in an underground plot to assassinate government official Mr. Yee (Hong Kong screen icon Tony Leung).
Her task requires her to infiltrate Mr. Yee’s inner circle by befriending his wife and pretending to be an upper-class socialite. Wong, who goes by the name Mak Tai Tai, is seduced by Mr. Yee and the two become increasingly emotionally and physically reliant as the deceit grows deeper.
Lee takes his time in telling the story, using the first half of the move to laboriously lay out the espionage plot to bring down Mr. Yee. The sluggish pacing makes the first half of the 160-minute film a test of will and patience.
The two leads do great in the confines of the material, which means pensive looks and repressed emotion galore. Leung transforms his usual genial gaze into Mr. Yee’s severe, icy glare, playing him as a psychopathic man cognizant of his unbridled power. He says little and emotes even less, but Leung hints at the heart underneath.
And in her big-screen debut, Wei belies her inexperience and carries the film, showing her character’s gradual degradation as she becomes more deeply entangled with Mr. Yee.
The film is shot beautifully by Rodrigo Prieto, whose understated cinematography proves again why he has one of Hollywood’s best cinematic eyes. Set design and wardrobe bring mid-century Shanghai to life in resplendent blues and reds.
Much has been made of the three sex scenes in “Lust, Caution,” which are indeed very graphic and convincing. What is most startling about the scenes is the unleashed emotion, so carefully pent-up and modulated throughout the rest of the film.
Lee uses the sex as a reflection of the development of Yee and Mak Tai Tai’s relationship, and the kinetic spark of these scenes provides an otherwise repressed, cautious film with some much needed lust.
-Teddy Phuong
E-mail Phuong at tphuong@media.ucla.edu