nostatic at all...

Saw "Lust, Caution" tonight. I've become a Tony Leung fan and given Ang Lee's current status it seemed like a no brainer. The fact that Tang Wei is beautiful (and as it turns out, a great actress) was a plus. So my review? Hmm...well, it goes something like this. Great acting. Beautifully shot. A sumptuous period piece. No "happy ending." All great, right? Well, I had to admit that the film still left me a bit cold. First off, it was too long. I hold up Infernal Affairs as a gold standard for economical storytelling and Lust, Caution could have easily been 20 minutes shorter. They could start by cutting the violent sex scenes that earned the film an NC-17 rating. Much as I didn't appreciate the rape scene in A History of Violence, the first sex scene in Lust, Caution didn't do it for me. And imho it was not necessary to explain the depths of Leung's character. There are more subtle ways to do it. It seemed upon further discussion that Lee was trying to make a "classic" film, much like the black and white movies that were shown during Lust, Caution. But those made their impact without shocking sex/violence. Subtle was often the watchword. I wish that would make a comeback frankly...