Slim Till Dead
Reviewed by Lee Alon
Opposite Andy and Sammi's successful Love on
a Diet lies Slim Till Dead, a macabre treatment of obesity and beauty worship
in a vein akin to Seven by David Fincher, and definitely not similar to
the two Hong Kong superstars' comedic take on this issue. STD features
Anthony Wong, among the world's most prolific actors, and arguably one
of the best to boot. Wong reprises for this one his confused, almost timid
cop personality from the Infernal Affairs series, although naturally the
two characters have no relation. They do share a troubled professional
past, with Wong's character, Inspector Wong, in the new film suffering
from acute gun shyness due to accidentally killing a child while pursuing
criminals.
Wong thereafter takes charge of a bizarre string
of murder cases involving victims from the city's resident health spa and
beauty pageant community. A high-profile televised contest featuring a
slew of stunning beauties (including several busty ladies to challenge
your rewind button on the odd lonely night) attracts particular attention
from the demented killer, who seems intent on slimming down prey to a bare
80lbs. A special police task force then steps in, with obvious cynicism,
to help prevent the show's cast and patrons from culminating in a premature,
bloody demise.
At first, events take on a slightly jocular
air, and the movie indeed does take a few demerits for mixing comedy and
visceral ritualistic homicide with little success. Fortunately, it changes
gears later as Wong's crew realize just how serious a threat they face,
and proceedings move on to form a thriller full of gore and atmospheric
locales where eerie danger lurks literally around every corner and down
each dimly lit hallway.
Aiding sardonic Wong are his dashing second in
command (long-absent Raymond Wong from PTU, Love Undercover plus Hidden
Heroes), a photographer turned investigator (newcomer Angel Wu), and Wong's
wife Ling, (Shereen Teng) an expert profiler and all-round anchor for the
harried police officer. The latter shares a loving but rocky life with
Wong, often exiling him to the discomforts of the living room whenever
he misbehaves. Another important factor in the unfolding drama is Junie,
an employee of the beauty show's organizer and overall mousy individual.
She's done by Cherrie Ying (last seen in Himalaya Singh), who once more
showcases her range and ability to play a variety of roles with great aplomb.
The girl has enough facial expressions for a small army, and quickly alternates
between moods and states of mind. Coupled with her hilariously funny appearance
in Himalaya Singh, one can see why she's in such high demand at the moment.
The story progresses scene by scene through a
very coherent yet pleasantly disorienting brand of story telling, each
position done with more than adequate attention to detail and vibe, as
protagonists try to pinpoint who's behind the gruesome body count. Although
not too violent or explicit, Slim Till Dead succeeds in conveying an intimidating,
spooky air peppered with comic relief anecdotes. Most of those aren't up
to par, although one brief moment does work nicely when a would-be victim,
an actress, takes part in filming a spoof of Three Extremes: Dumplings.
As a package this project takes off efficiently
enough, making the most of its technical faculties while avoiding excessive
pandering to whatever currently stands for le cool de jour. Anthony's not
too strong in this one, but he does manage a diverse role, with a moderately
touching moment with his wife towards the end. Talent-wise, though, the
show belongs to ingénue Ying and to cinema mogul Wong Jing's prolonged
cameo as the police unit's chief.
As for the subject matter, Slim Till Dead devotes
a token amount of time and effort to explaining how hurtful being grossly
overweight can be, but it's not the main event here and there's hardly
any commentary on the subject to begin with. STD's referral to the popular
hot issue results in a bit of a red herring, just like Wong spends much
of the story time chasing an unknown foe. Despite a gooey happy ending
that's liable to vanquish your enjoyment of the movie, we recommend watching
it for its suspense, style and curvaceous female guest starts. It also
echoes an older breed of Hong Kong movie, the one that's less sanitized
than the material normally coming out these days. You know, where wackiness
isn’t necessarily kept to a minimum and where emotions go on a rollercoaster
ride, moving from stoic bravery to tearful shambles in the blink of an
eye. For that alone, we feel applauding Slim Till Dead warranted.
Rating: 7/10
Directed by Marco Mak
Starring Anthony Wong, Shereen Teng, Cherrie
Ying, Raymond Wong, Angel Wu
2005, 92 minutes, Cantonese/Putonghua
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