Wednesday 21 December 2016

Alternate Best Actor 1993: Anthony Wong in The Untold Story

Anthony Wong did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Wong Chi-hang in The Untold Story.

The Untold story tells the true story of a serial killer cook, although this version of the story is the type you might find within a dirty copy of a sleazy gossip rag in the trash of a smelly bus station bathroom.

The film though is acutely aware of this as it goes for pure exploitation here. The film would be like if in Zodiac you spent half the film watching Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards ogle their boss’s girlfriend and mock their female coworker for her lack of ample breasts. That's half the film as the investigators are portrayed to be utter buffoons in sequences of rather broad comedy. In rest of the time, we are with Anthony Wong, which are even more ridiculous if you can believe it, despite winning the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor that would be like if Terry O'Quinn won the Academy Award for The Stepfather. Here's the thing though as proven by his work in Hardboiled, Infernal Affairs, and especially Beast Cops Anthony Wong is a higher caliber of actor. He's not a simple exploitation actor in terms of talent, which means he offers a little more than you might expect. That's not to say Wong gives this serious performance, quite the contrary, Wong knows the type of film he's in and he embraces it to its fullest.

It needs to be said that this performance is technically just as insane as the rest of the film, yet Wong's approach elevates it beyond through his understanding of the material. Unlike the majority of the rest of the cast, who are pretty bad in their goofy performances, Wong knows how to play into his material while not being wholly consumed by it. Wong knows the intentions of the part and decides to be as entertaining as he can be with that in mind. After all, past his prologue, Wong's first appearance is as he is chopping meat at his restaurant while watching his waitress. Wong's does not hold back in the sweaty sleaze he brings to his manner. He blares his eyes wide open watching her, and makes his mouth tight as he really emphasizes just how disgusting his character is. Wong though is careful in his performance to just chomp around on the scenery in the right ways. It's a curiously mesmerizing performance to watch at times, as Wong brings certain unpredictability to the madness he inflicts not only the character but his whole performance with. 

Wong is at times downright hilarious as he goes about amplifying the film any way in which he can through his unrepentant depiction of the killer. Whether this is the murder scene which Wong relishes in as his namesake goes about killing people in a variety of ways, which Wong depicts with the utmost glee. Whether this is setting fire to a man or beating a man to death with a ladle. Or his portrayal of the other side of Wong as he brings such haphazard awkwardness to the man as he sloppily attempts to cover  his tracks. Wong's delivery is so enjoyably inept, intentionally inept that is, of a man whose arrest is simply an inevitable. I have to admit I have an especial affection for Wong's dramatic turn he employs after the waitress begins to tell the cops about how suspicious her employer is. Now technically speaking nothing within these scenes stops being exploitative, in fact I am going to say most would find these scenes are downright distasteful especially given that they are based on real events. However Wong does his best to alleviate this best he can by playing up this silliness in an effective fashion. 

Now again much of this is dependent on Wong's talent, which actually does suggest that he could have played a more realistic depiction of the character. Technically in the murder scenes, which get pretty brutal, Wong has the needed intensity for such scenes though apparently knowing the film's direction he takes this up just another notch to derive some actual levity among the grotesque. Again Wong shows the potential for something else, if the film had required it, particularly in the scenes where Wong attempts to commit suicide. Wong does bring the gravity of the situation within his eyes as he begins the act, but again playing into the film's tone he just takes a step further. Making the distress seems less that of a lost soul on the last lengths but rather a pathetic act of a vicious monster. Now because of that Wong's best scene is probably his confession where he gets the unabashedly embrace the character’s wretchedness.  Wong brings such psychotic joy into his devious smile as he boasts about his accomplishments, spending an extra bit of time to note that he made his victims into food which he then fed to the very cops investigating him. This is not a great performance by any means.  It is a lot of dark fun from a good actor really slumming it though. 

248 comments:

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Anonymous said...

RIP Debbie Reynolds

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed by Foxx in Dreamgirls. He is actually a very strong 4.

Giuseppe Fadda said...

I can't believe it... RIP Debbie Reynolds

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

RIP Debbie Reynolds.

RatedRStar said...

RIP Debbie Reynolds

Álex Marqués said...

RIP Debbie Reynolds

Anonymous said...

Louis see anything else new?

Louis Morgan said...

Silence

Robert MacFarlane said...

Well don't keep us in the dark, what did you think?

Louis Morgan said...

Robert:

For me, it was most emotional cinema going experience of the year. I found myself absolutely transfixed by the film for all 2 hours and 41 minutes of its run time. I suppose it should be expected from Scorsese that its technical elements are excellent, par for course I suppose. The way Scorsese realizes this world and its setting though is absolutely astonishing. Rodrigo Preito's cinematography is downright awe inspiring. The score and even the sound is so brilliantly used here as you deeply feel the sequences in such a remarkable way.

I have a feeling the film may depend on one personally brings to it, especially due to Scorsese's storytelling methods. As usual Scorsese doesn't usually seek to enforce his emotions upon you, but allows one to soak in what is there in their own time, in their own way. I found this approach mesmerizing for me as Scorsese presents the facets of the stories which can contain moments of such beauty along with true unmistakable horrors. The film brought me along to this moment, that is rather daring. Through the journey I experienced, as well as again Scorsese's method, I ended up finding it be utterly profound. I don't want to use the "M" word, but I am very close to doing so. All I can say though is I found it to be the most powerful film I've seen all year.

Calvin Law said...

Thoughts/rating for Driver? Because I'm guessing you'll want to hold on to most of the cast.

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

Well I am saving Garfield, Ogata and Neeson. I will say about Neeson that he's in it more than some have strangely claimed, I'd say more than Michelle Williams is in Manchester By The Sea, so I don't know why, based on screen time alone, so many have said a nomination for him is impossible.

Driver - 4(A good performance as offers his character's perspective often just through a glance, or just an emphasis within a delivery. Driver makes you understand where Garrpe is in terms of his own motivation and feelings towards the mission even though the focus is always much stronger on Rodrigues/Garfield. Driver is especially moving in his final scene, releasing this intense outburst of emotion that contributes greatly to a very striking moment in the film.)

Calvin Law said...

Louis: oh okay! How about your ratings and thoughts for Asano and Kubozuka? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I am looking forward to both the next review and your yearly predictions.

Álex Marqués said...

I'm so glad you loved Silence, I can't wait to see it.

I just watched Toni Erdmann. Terrific film, and both of its leads, Hüller in particular, are excellent.

Calvin Law said...

Alex: I need to check that one out, some are pegging it as a potential Best Foreign Language film front-runner.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: glad to hear they both excelled.

Charles H said...

Silence is probably going to be Louis's favorite of 2016.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Ratings and thoughts on anyone else from the Silence cast.

I can't fucking wait for these 2016 reviews to come and Garfield's getting 2 fives. :)

Luke Higham said...

January 1st can't come quick enough.

Charles H said...

Garfield will certainly be one promising actor.

Luke Higham said...

Robert: What did you think of Peter Sarsgaard in Jackie.

Luke Higham said...

My Supporting Predictions
Nominees
Ali
Bridges
Patel
Grant
Hedges

Alternate
The Witch
Our Kind Of Traitor
Nocturnal Animals
Silence
Moonlight
Foster
Neill
Ehrenreich
Lloyd
Reynor/TBD

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating and thoughts on Aaron Eckhart in Sully.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Lastly, your thoughts on Kubo and the Two Strings

Charles H said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Good God. 227 comments.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: We've had worse.

Anonymous said...

Luke: I know.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Your cast and director for a 1960's version of Silence.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Since Lead Actor's really stacked this year, are you considering extending to 15 or remaining with the usual 10.

Michael McCarthy said...

Is it that stacked? If lead actor lines up the way it looks like it will I think we might only need an alternate lineup of 5.

Luke Higham said...

Michael McCarthy: I think it would be fair for everyone, if we had 10 and vote for our top 3 choices like last year.

And Louis hasn't seen Driver in Paterson and Cheadle in Miles Ahead.

Calvin Law said...

Luke: yeah that's the best shout. I think Louis would really take to Driver in Paterson.

My votes at this point would be,

Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)
Radcliffe
Mortensen

Though again, haven't seen Affleck, Washington, Gosling etc.

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: Though I haven't seen Silence yet (watching it on 01/01/2017) it's quite likely that I'll choose Garfield for my #1. He's had a sensational year by all accounts.

2. Pine
3. Downey Jr. or Gyllenhaal

Luke Higham said...

Though If I had to take a guess on the lineup, it'll be:
Garfield (Silence)
Gyllenhaal
Downey Jr.
Pine
Dennison
Dano/Radcliffe
Cheadle
Driver
Hawke
Yelchin

Charles H said...

Luke, Solid line-up.

Luke Higham said...

Charles: Thank you very much.

Álex Marqués said...

As Calvin said once, I don't think there's need for a review of Yelchin and Dennison, as good as they were. I think Simonischek would be a better choice for a review.

Luke Higham said...

Alex: I'll take out Dennison then.

Michael McCarthy said...

Oh I forgot about Downey. Yeah I could get behind a set of 10, fifteen seems quite excessive though.

Luke Higham said...

Michael: Forget what I said, 10's enough.

Luke Higham said...

Fuck, I forgot about Michael Keaton in The Founder, I'll replace Yelchin with him.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

On Kubo. An Animated film bah humbug! Sorry just keeping to being the Ebeneezer Scrooge of animated films. The film is beautifully animated, that is a given. It's incredible in its use of stop motion, finding so much beauty within the art form. The story is simple enough, which is somewhat standard for an animated film. I think it works though in carrying us between the rather marvelous action set pieces, while having enough of an emotional undercurrent beneath it all to connect them towards an effective conclusion. I will say I found almost none of the film's humor worked though. The majority of the lines I felt were groan worthy and worse ill-fitting to the intentions of the story. Also a bit of the casting is questionable, I like Matthew McConaughey but he's poor fit for any type of samurai, not that his performance is terrible per se, he's simply miscast. Those reservations do keep me from loving the film, which unfortunately all seemed for the sake of a "broader appeal" which it failed to attain in terms of box office numbers anyways. A good film still, but I wish it had shirked some the expected modern animated film tropes.

Eckhart - 3(A simple role in that he's mainly there for a series of one liners, which to his credit he delivers them well in a realistic wise guy fashion. I don't feel his work goes further past being just the likable enough co-pilot.)

Silence Cast:

Komatsu - 3.5(I found her relatively brief performance incredibly moving by expressing such a purity in the characters belief and support for the Christians.)

Oida - 3(Good but I'd say overshadowed by Tsukamoto in their scenes together)

Tsukamoto - 4(A remarkable portrayal of essentially a certain desperation within his desire for faith. He's incredibly moving in portraying the fear and paranoia in the man, yet creating the sense of an undercurrent of comfort in regards to faith. In his final scene he is heart wrenching to be sure. Tsukamoto makes it such a poignant moment through his passionate portrayal of a man using his faith for solace.)

Anonymous:

Silence 1960's directed by Akira Kurosawa:

Rodrigues: Max von Sydow
Garrpe: Donald Sutherland
Ferreira: Laurence Olivier
Valignano: Ralph Richardson
The Interpreter: Tatsuya Nakadai
Mokichi: Minoru Chiaki
Ichizo: Takashi Shimura
Inoue Masashige: Masayuki Mori
Kichijiro: Tsutomu Yamazaki

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your top ten of 2016.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

1.Silence
2.La La Land
3.Hell or High Water
4.Hunt for the Wilderpeople
5.Hacksaw Ridge
6.Arrival
7.Green Room
8.Eye in the Sky
9.Captain America: Civil War
10.Sing Street

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Is the review coming tonight.

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