Mad Detective

Inspector Ho (Andy On) is having problems with a case involving a missing detective.  He turns to former Inspector Bun (Ching Wan Lau), who was kicked off the force for cutting off his ear and offering it to a retiring chief.  Bun is crazy, but has a special talent for getting inside the mind of a suspect.  So special, in fact, that he can “see” aspects of a person’s psyche manifested as distinct personalities.

As a whodunit, the film isn’t particularly satisfying.  The guilty party is pretty obvious from the beginning, and the hows and whys get revealed rather early.  But it’s more about exploring the eccentric personality of Bun and his curious abilities.  The primary suspect has seven “personalities” only visible to Bun.  But it should be noted that only three of them actually do anything.  Who knows what the other four are about… maybe one of them updates his Facebook or something.  It seems to me like a really farfetched portrayal of insanity and an implausible method of effective deduction… but it’s an interesting twist on the detective formula, kind of Bad Lieutenant meets Sybil.  I can’t honestly say I’ve ever seen it done in quite this manner.

As I’ve come to expect from To (working here with longtime collaborator Ka-Fai Wai), the film is gorgeously stylized, with graceful camera movement, striking angles and a cold, sleek view of the city.  The climax is a beautiful Mexican standoff set in a Lady of Shanghai-esque room full of mirrors, the floor littered with shards left to be sorted out by the survivors.

If you’re just picking apart the basic plot elements, there isn’t much meat here.  But the unusual approach, swift development, fine lead performances and technical/aesthetic qualities make it an engaging watch.  Rating: Good (78)

IMDb