It seems that we like to take things lightly during Chinese New Year, with most if not all CNY-related releases promising to be trashy but funny comedies, like From Vegas To Macau 2, 12 Golden Ducks, and now, An Inspector Calls, the latest release from Raymond Wong and Herman Yau. Based on the classic British play of the same name, this film – of all the CNY flicks – contains the greatest potential for actual meaning – perhaps some moral lessons amidst the laughs to start off the Year of the Goat on the right note. But its ill-disciplined self-indulgence results in a empty movie void of any real drama or laughs.
At its core is a serious and deep story about the hypocrisy of the rich and their exploitation and poor treatment of the common man. Louis Koo plays the mysterious Inspector, who intrudes into the wealthy Kau residence to investigate the suicide of a pregnant girl who is linked to everyone in the mansion. This disrupts the peace before the engagement party of Sherry Kau and her fiancé, but the inspector is determined to solve the case – one that troubles him morally. With proof from a diary and a photograph, the inspector gradually uncovers information regarding the exploitation of the girl that stems from the arrogance and cruelty of the Kaus. It’s a story that stays fundamentally faithful to its source, conveying the vile treatment dealt out to the less privileged by the affluent.
It could certainly pack a punch but, sadly, the potency of the story is diluted by the film’s structure. It’s a dreadful adaptation of the “drawing room” format. The entire film essentially occurs in the living room of the Kau residence, where the six members of the Kau family open up about their past with the victimised girl. Each person takes up their own slice of the narrative in slowly recounting their interactions with the girl in flashbacks. As a result, we spend good chunks of time with these spoilt brats whom we don’t really care about, which should ideally be made up for with moments of decent comedy.
This is perhaps the film’s greatest flaw: its bland moments of comedy rely on unbearable over-acting and childish slapstick. It’s eye-rolling stuff, with one of the comedic ‘highlights’ being a sequence wherein a woman continuously throws shoes at a waiter to test his acrobatic abilities. Dull moments like this one are repeated six times for each member of the family. Without relatable characters, drama, or even good comedy, it soon becomes repetitive and agonisingly tiresome.
Those familiar with the play should know that its resolution makes a strong moral point about the severity of exploitation in the Victorian era – this reviewer was moved just by reading it off a plot summary – but none of it is conveyed by this adaptation. It lacks the intelligence to dish out its verdict on the selfish and superficial Kau family, resulting in a film that feels unacceptably light and dismissive of the bigger subjects at hand.
In adapting this play, the filmmakers messed with the wrong script, never doing its content and themes justice, nor intelligently revising it to fit its Asian context. The lack of weight to its moral lessons, and the unfunny attempts at jokes, result in a film that’s wholly frivolous and unmemorable. Kick off this CNY with something meaningful or at least funny – this film is neither.
RATING: 1.5 out of 5 stars
Osmond Chia