Alternate Best Actor 1997: Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Happy Together

Tony Leung Chiu-wai did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lai Yiu-Fai in Happy Together. 

Happy Together is a beautifully told and shot film about two Hongkongers in a difficult relationship while abroad. 

The two Hongkongers being Leung and Leslie Cheung as Ho Po-Wing. A homosexual relationship really notable for the time because it doesn't really make a big deal about, in fact at all in terms of the storytelling. That aspect isn't the focus of the film in the least, that is simply the starting point, the point examining it as a complex and difficult relationship. We have the two sides of the relationship. On the side we more often follow is Leung in the role of Lai, who is more easily described as the "responsible" one who seems to have any intention for the future. We see the two initially in the throws of a more intimate relationship. Leung and Cheung do have fantastic chemistry in these moments where you get the sense of a primal attraction between the two in a moment, that is essential as an underlying constant though not the only aspect within their character. At the same time though there appears to be a discontent where we get the two shades of the idea of the relationship where Cheung portrays a blithe attitude right down to Ho's repeated "let's start over" as though the relationship can be just reset when needed, Leung's performance accentuates the burden of such an attitude as both men seemingly only have each other, as difficult as that is, being so far from their home as they are in Argentina within the opening of the film. 

Leung's performance is honestly more often silent, despite being the narrator of the film, however within the narration of the film, his work is fairly straight forward as this man just recounting his life, no fuss or overemphasis, just a man explaining what is happening to him. What Leung's work then is breathing life into this situation and this relationship, while so infrequently stating every aspect of the relationship. Where the greatness of the work, and the film, is that this idea never seems underwritten or underdeveloped even when the amount of words is often limited. That is found in the strengths of the central performances particularly Leung's work as Lai. Leung's initial scenes are of that exasperation towards the state of this relationship, this constant back and forth between Ho seeming interested towards him then in a moment later will be equally dismissive of him. Leung presents Lai as just dealing with what he has and often struggling with the difficulties of this state. The frustrations initially more so the exasperation towards Ho's immaturity before they break the first time and Lai a job at a nightclub. A nightclub he soon sees Ho visiting with a different man. Leung is amazing in his portrayal of all the thoughts storming through his head in a moment of this notice. The complex anxiety is so remarkable in Leung's performance because it isn't just jealousy or anger, there is so much more within the need of the companionship one moment just as there is the distress of it the next. 

They renew a relationship although no longer one of extreme sexual intimacy or even necessarily attraction just of intimacy as they live together but don't sleep together. Leung's performance helps to realize the strange sort of logic of this state the two exist in as it is obviously Ho is willing just to "Start over" once again, but that isn't the case for Lai. Rather Leung shows still an override stress about his interactions with Ho, and even the discomfort in being in the same place. Leung at the same time though still shows that powerful need for attachment, and really the moments of the intensity of the loneliness when completely alone. Leung's performance is so articulate in creating the detail really in the interaction between the two characters. He can't quite leave Ho, he needs Ho, but he also in a way can't stand what Ho represents and what Ho's behavior really does to him. This is remarkable because again it is all in Leung's silent portrayal of the interactions that we see this. When together they are in this state of distress together. Leung portraying just the frustration of having to be in this constant of needing this person yet also wanting so much not to need this. In his moments of lashing out and really just trying to ignore Ho, Leung shows Lai in a way trying to contain his own emotion that in a way is this constant pester of him. Leung presenting a man stuck in a painful purgatory of the relationship, as a relationship he knows he doesn't truly desire, but still not one that he feels he can entirely give up either. 

As Ho is recovering from an attack, Lai continues on attempting to resolve some path to return home to Hong Kong, where we have these essential moments where Lai receives one too many calls at work from Ho. Leung's performance in these scenes though are of this perfect kind of resignation where his voice is this unfortunate assuaging of Ho on the other line, while his face is just that of a man going through the motions of fulfilling the needs of Ho in the moment. There is no passion in his eyes, just rather a man trying to deal with this relationship that he is deeply attached to even if he in many ways he really doesn't want to be. This is in stark contrast to a relationship that develops with the slightly ambiguous Chang (Chen Chang), a fellow worker at a restaurant that Lai works for. Chang within the scheme of the film and the scheme of Lai's life seems this breath of fresh air as this slightly eccentric but also just outgoing and optimistic young man. Leung initially portrays the reactions to Chang as just this minor interest, but no more than that, as he still depicts the pained fixation on whatever emotional state Ho might be in at one time another, however always calling Lai to make sure he knows. With Chang, who genuinely seems to just enjoy life and Lai's companionship, even in just a friendly way, Leung is terrific in portraying basically the weight upon his soul that eases in these interactions. It is still a very subtle performance, and in his subtle work does he reflect this sense of natural calm and potent warmth these two men share, that lacks the pained challenge of the contentious relationship with Ho. 

 

The final act of the film, which in typical Wong Kar-wai fashion is not about the expected, and it typically is about the beauty of silences, depends greatly on Leung's performance to create the emotional anchor. His performance throughout these scenes barely says a word beyond his narration, as Lai goes off on his own to first visit Iguazu Falls before heading to go home to Hong Kong, finally cutting himself off from the difficult relationship with Ho and also leaving the potential relationship with Chang behind. Leung's performance is able to articulate in really just these silent moments of contemplation suggesting the state of Lai that suggests growth yet still struggle with his condition, which really is just the human condition. His work is exceptional in that it has such a power to it in both very specifically realizing Lai's particular circumstances while also making them wholly empathetic in just anyone facing the idea of loneliness against regression, growth into the unfamiliar or comfort within stagnation. Leung's work reveals that no matter the decision there is no ease in the choice and we come to know what Lai's mental state is as he leans to the new, even if there is a different kind of pain in that new. This is no better reflected than the final shot of Lai in the film as he rides the bus alone but back in Hong Kong. It is outstanding work from Leung as it isn't a simple note of distress in Leung's performance but so much of the memory of the experiences he's been through in this moment. He's going through so much more than a simple thought, and such poignancy is in this complexity that is all in this singular silent moment.