Crossing Hennessy (2010)

Acclaimed female screenwriter Ivy Ho's second sally of taking the director chair, CROSSING HENNESSY is an indigenous rom-com pairs Hong Kong's "God of Songs" Jacky Cheung with a mainland parvenu Tang Wei, actually, this feature marks the long-awaited follow-up of Tang's incandescent debut in Ang Lee's LUST, CAUTION (2007), after the film prompted a ban of her in filmmaking in mainland China due to its scandalous erotic charge, from which Ms. Tang is shrewd enough to find a loop to circumnavigate by being granted a Hong Kong citizenship and also ventures in a South Korean picture LATE AUTUMN (2010), directed by Kim Tae-yong and the pair would tie the knot in 2014. In CROSSING HENNESSY, it is all start with a blind date. Loy (Jacky Cheung) is a forty-something ne'er-do-well, cosseted by his widow mother (Paw), who presides over an electronic appliance shop with street smart, and his spinster auntie (Chu), who ministers to his quotidian requirements, no wonder he is perpetually stuck in arresting development, only the tidings of his ex-girlfriend Man-yu (Maggie Ho-yee Cheung) can jolt him out of lassitude. On the other end of Hennessy street in Wan Chai District, Oi-lin (Tang), is a parent-less young woman works in her uncle's bathroom appliance store, she already has a boyfriend Xu (On), who is presently cooped up for his hoover act, considerably, her uncle (Lam) disapproves of this relationship, so in the first place, both Loy and Oi-lin agree to the date only to appease their elders, and in the presence of these eager-beaver matchmakers, there is not a scintilla of spark occasioned because both are slumming it. Afterwards, they go separate ways, Loy rekindles his relationship with a recently divorced Man-yu whereas Oi-lin frets about Xu's violence-prone temper and their fickle future, but destiny gives them another chance, a chaste friendship is burgeoning when they find out both are avid readers of whodunits, and even develop a folie-à-deux about a mysterious Indian waiter (Singh) in their usual haunt, a typical Cha Chaan Teng (literally means "tea restaurant"). But misunderstanding and clashes ensue, and they have to firstly sever with their status quo before starting a new lease on life, and through Ho's verismic and unpretentious script, a climatic happy ending is only sensibly suggested rather than celebrated with fanfare (although eventually there is a wedding for a pair of squabblers). In the acting front, Jacky Cheung scrupulously deigns to put on a facade of an ordinary Joe oscillating between a waggish deadbeat and a self-aware non-starter, and brings forth an unlikely hero eventually grows on you. Tang Wei, on the other hand, radiates a natural brilliance even the script doesn't proffer her many juicy parts, she is particularly in her element with small gesticulation and subtle introspection. But for my money, the biggest amenity is the old hand Nina Paw, contrasting her more inwardly demanding strength manifested in Ann Hui's THE WAY WE ARE (2008), here she boisterously plays up Loy's mother with a hyperbolic flourish, and magically does not relinquish the character's human aspect in spite of the caricatured conceit, also counterpoised by Mimi Chu's self-deprecating presence as her dowdy sister. Awash with Hong Kong veterans (including cameos), Ho's film is inevitably evocative of nostalgia of Hong Kong Film Industry's heyday, but Ho's directorial skill is far less adroit compared with her contemporary Ann Hui, sporadically the editing seems gauche and the distorted dream sequences seem, to say the very least, rudimentary in this day and age, so are the slow-motion shots of the newlyweds nearly the coda, barely outstay their welcome. Yet, furnished by Anthony Chue's resonant score and an able cast, CROSSING HENNESSY has its own melancholy advantage towards a certain demographic since a pure-blood Hong Kong movie is as scare as hen's tooth at this moment in time.

It's a good thing that the ban on Tang Wei had been lifted as she is certainly too good an actress to be left withering in the winds, as proved in this small movie. The script of a man and woman who go on a blind date unwillingly but gradually find common ground gave Tang Wei a fertile ground in which her acting shone the brightest compared to the rest of the cast. In fact, after watching this, we dare say you might not remember the story but you sure will not put Tang Wei out of your minds. Hard, soft, real and altogether as beautiful as an enchanting, lone dewdrop on a tulip, hers is a beauty you want to preserve forever in your memory as if it could go away at any fleeting moment. We know we're waxing lyrical about her like adolescent schoolboys but seriously, there's nothing else to say of this film. Oh alright, it was quite charming. Garr... who are we kidding? It was charming because of her! The rating would be completely different without her.

With "Crossing Hennessy", writer-director Ivy Ho apparently aims at accomplishing two things: tell the love story between two people on opposite sides of Hennessy Road in a 'realistic light'; and provide a touch of nostalgia to the colourful Wan Chai area of Hong Kong which is to be 'dismantled' for an 'Urban Renewal' project.She is only partly successful on both counts. What I felt at a morning media screening of this film was mostly boredom, alleviated by a few moments of delightful comedy provided by its secondary cast. A predictable tale with an abrupt ending.Loy (Jacky Cheung) is a 40-something bachelor who still lives with his mother (Paw Hee Ching) and works at her electrical appliance retail shop on one side of Hennessy Road of Hong Kong island. On the other side, Oi Lin (Tang Wei) works at her uncle's shop selling sanitary hardware. Loy and Oi Lin are being matched for marriage by their elders and are forced to go on a date. They do so reluctantly, as each already has someone on the side.Oi Lin is in love with Xu (Andy On), a hot-head convicted for assaulting someone; and Loy is being wooed by his ex-girlfriend (Maggie Cheung Ho Hee) who has just divorced her husband. Are the two really meant for each other - or just two folks passing by the same road? In trying to present the love story in its 'realistic' and genuine light, we get mundane scenes of everyday life - inside shops, homes and rooms - with nothing inventive or creative to grab our wandering attention. And believe me, after so many of such 'nothing happens' scenes, your mind will start to wander. Jacky Cheung's performance is up to par, portraying a sleepy-head with low self-esteem and no passion for romance. Tang Wei, however, appears wooden here, quite unlike her sexy seductress role in her last film, Lust, Caution. The two leads are not only devoid of screen chemistry, they are upstaged by the supporting cast and subplots.Indeed, veterans Danny Lee, Paw Hee Ching (pictured) and Zhu Mimi provide laughs and lots of local humour with a romantic triangle subplot while Gill Mohindepaul Singh and Lowell Lo are involved in supernatural and dream sequences as a mysterious waiter and Loy's late father respectively. Ekin Cheng also makes a brief appearance, ostensibly to excite the audience.As a swan song of sorts to Wan Chai district, "Crossing Hennessy" does little to evoke the history or provide insights to the famous district. Ivy Ho has written many commendable films (the 2002 "July Rhapsody" and 2005 "Divergence" spring to mind) but displays nothing outstanding or memorable as director of this sophomore effort (after "Claustrophobia" of 2008). - By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

In a magazine interview, Ivy Ho quipped, "Becoming a director was not my plan. It was a plot twist". What the script-writer-turned-director (incidentally also a self-proclaimed knitting expert) was referring to is "Claustrophobia" (2008), a script which turned many directors away because of its subtlety. Ho took it up herself: "I chose to tackle the question that I'm not familiar with first (like during an exam)" she explains in another interview. When she later tackled the light rom-com "Crossing Hennessey", it was a breeze.The main plot is all too familiar: matchmaking. "I'm all for rehashing old topics (in movies)", Ho intimated. The development is also comfortably familiar: the protagonists each separately has a current romance which, though not actually going too well, is enough to start them with sparks of antagonism towards the "intruder". Then, you know the drill: mutual curiosity turning into mutual interest, eventually blossoming into a full romance. Following Ho's trademark style with scriptwriting, the whole thing is delightfully, almost nonchalantly, light, but not without a gentle taste of sweetness. Much credit is due to the chemistry between Jacky Cheung and TANG Wei. The supporting cast fulfils its function admirably and there is even an ever-so-slight touch of "Baby Jane" complex between the hero's mother and her sister.The film is beautifully shot, sometimes with dream-like filter effect, in a neighbourhood that still preserves the beauty of old Hong Kong. "I can't stand movies where they have a scene with actors walking around in Kowloon, and then they turn a corner, and they're in Central (i.e. across the Victoria Harbour, for those who are not familiar with the geography of Hong Kong). "Crossing Hennessey is kept around only Hennessy Road in Wanchai", Ho promises. I would add that it's probably all within 10 minutes languid stroll. Take this from someone who should know: one rather important scene is shot at a spot within 20 paces from where I live.The background music is well chosen. One interesting thing though is that the romantic finale has as its background "When you and I were young Maggie". I wonder if the movie makers are aware that its lyrics are in memory of the author's wife who died just a few months after their marriage. No matter. The melody of the song is so divinely beautiful that taken as pure background music, it does serve admirable to sweeten the ending.