One Nite in Mongkok

B+

Directed by Derek Yee

Derek Yee's "One Nite in Mongkok" is a satisfying and exciting romp through one of Hong Kong's less glamourous neighborhoods as well as a showcase for Yee's considerable talents as a director of intelligent, emotionally resonant action films.

A gang boss in Hong Kong's seedy Mongkok district orders a hit on a rival after the latter's son killed his own son following a bar room brawl. Not finding anyone in HK to do the dirty deed, the boss calls in Lai Fu, a hitman from mainland China. When Lai Fu arrives in HK, he is immediately double crossed by his handler (played by HK regular Lam Suet) who finds himself in hot water with local authorities. To add to his mounting troubles, Lai Fu finds himself unwantingly attached at the hip with a prostitute he accidently saves from a rough trick (I always wanted to use that term in a write-up). As Lai Fu's planned hit becomes more and more bogged down in unforeseen setbacks, the local authorities are hot on his tail trying desperately to nab the assassin before time runs out.

ONIM, without trying to intellectualize the Hong Kong action flick, does infuse the genre with a significant amount of emotional gravitas by putting character development on equal footing with the development of its plot. In this respect, ONIM reminded me of Wong Kar Wai's "Fallen Angels", an action film where the action, instead of being the film's raison d'être, often plays second fiddle to developping three dimensional characters. ONIM also features surprisingly astute commentary on the tensions created by the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China. The societal upheavals created by the massive movements of China's rural poor from farm to city, which has created a whole new class of destitute urban poor throughout the mainland and Hong Kong, is an often overlooked byproduct of China's rapid industrialization. It's to Yee's credit that he tackles the issue in an intelligent and sympathetic manner.

The only gripes I have with Yee's film are the length, which could ahve been shorter, and the acting which, although never bad, didn't enhance the film much either. Cheung in particular tended towards skreekniness in many of her scenes but her performance, although lacking nuance, wasn't so bad that it kept me from enjoying the rest of the film.