Largely plotless, A Simple Life revolves instead around the relationship between Sister Peach (Deanie Ip) and Roger Leung (Andy Lau), a filmic mirror image of the actor himself, with the former being both his servant, godmother and caretaker since childhood.
If there were an Oscar film category for most aptly titled movie, A Simple Life would win the award hands down, and therein lies its greatest flaw. The characters are three-dimensional and completely believable in their humanity, but we are never given a sense of their emotional interiors developing through the course of the film.
Andy Lau is as charismatic as always, and Deanie Ip infuses the simple lines of her character`s personality with a quiet pathos. But while the chemistry between Ip and Lau is generally charming, the run time of the film is too lengthy by half, leading to a largely meandering affair that will require some measure of patience on the part of viewers. The cinematography is subtle and generally well-crafted, and themes of old age, mortality, and filial piety are interweaved with the film, but never so heavy handedly as to feel preachy.
A Simple Life is to modern movies what traditional cooking by one`s gran is to a Big Mac. It`s laborious, attentive to detail and generally well-crafted, but requires patience and time to be fully appreciated.
Summary: An uncontroversial, moving drama that may be too bland for younger palates.
Rating: 3/5 Raphael Lim