MOVIE REVIEWS

Longest Nite

1997, Director: Patrick Yau

Cast: Tony Leung, Lau Ching Wen

Two tiad leades vie for the right to manage a string of casinos in Macau which sparks an exhausting 8 months battle. A twist of fate brings to two ganster bosses together in collaboration, but rumors have it otherwise.  Now a murderous plot is about to unfold with a secret bodyguard stuck in the middle of it all.  A stylish and gritty triad thriller starring Tony Leung and Lau Ching Wen.

The psychological complex about "the end" is still in full force. But the script is more rational and integral than Intruder. The mysterious set-up is a spin-off from Lost Highway. Pic's strength is setting the action in Macao in turbulent times (thus setting it up as a metaphor of Hongkong), and giving full vent to Wai Ka-fai's pessimistic world view of inexorable doom. Yau Tat-chi shows impressive improvement with images: the confrontation in the cell, the chase at the pier and the duel in the hall of mirrors are all totally self-sufficient set pieces. A director to watch out for. - Thomas Shin

Pic probably tops all Hongkong films in presenting triad warfare intrigue, and the horror and intricacy of a well-oiled set-up. The scripter and director weave a clever interlocking plot complete with tense and heart-stopping atmospherics. Tony Leung's bad cop performance is a class on its own, particularly when he finds out that he's been set up and is now in an untenable situation. But pic's originality is in the end let down by the final shoot out in a dilapidated warehouse, which is both shop-worn and pretentious. - Reeve Wong

The most attention-grabbing thing about The Longest Nite is not its absurd story (designed to expose absurd situations), but its music which breaks up the film's rhythm and tension. The audience is alienated, but gets an exotic Macao in return. The plot is shot full of holes (like Tony Leung leaving Lau Ching-wan's bag unattended on the street), but the most important thing is the destruction of persona (which explains why the mirror-shooting scene here is an improvement over Face/Off's). The film's intense concern for "I" is worth noting. - Long Tin

Wai Ka-fai's doctrine in full swing: no good end for life on earth, and smart-asses are just people in a hurry to die. The difference between Tony Leung's cop and Lau Ching-wan's killer is the difference between the bad and the badder. It's black sorrow without regret. Yau Tat-chi, while apt at images, is clumsy with structure, and ends up led by nose by Wai's script. The questions is: how does a director master a script that has gone hysterical and out of control, that has turned its back on logic for cheap thrills? Failing this, the film has little prospect of progress. - Ye Nianchen

Credit: http://filmcritics.org.hk/longestnite/review.html