Romancing In Thin Air follows Hong Kong megastar Michael (Louis Koo), who makes a career switch from acting to full-time alcoholism after being left at the altar by his wife Yuan Yuan. A drunken attempt to elude the paparazzi leaves him ludicrously stranded in a traveller`s inn, and a further turn of events has him falling for a fan (Sammi Cheng) who still mourns the disappearance of her husband.
Romancing in Thin Air is one of those wasted endeavours where the aesthetics of the film get in the way of the character development, a component fundamental to a film of its genre. Rather than developing character interest, the film demands our immediate sympathy for its characters, resulting in dramatic sequences that come across as overwrought, and comedic ones that are vaguely tiresome. The ultimate result is a film that has the premise of Norwegian Wood, but with none of the subtlety or genius in characterisation.
To be fair though, the film is pretty enough, with an evocative score, and Louis Koo is his usual charismatic self, although his character and the heavy-handed nature of the script prevents him from performing to the best of his abilities. What is near damning, though, is the script`s treatment of the theme of mortality in the film`s second half, which is insensitive at best, and puerile at worst.
In the end, Romancing in Thin Air`s detachment and inability to plume its main characters` motivations leaves it gasping for breath, and ineffectual despite its solid component parts.
Summary: Never comes together into a satisfying film.
Rating: 2.5/5 Raphael Lim
Opens: 9 Feb 2012.