From
1999 to 2018, Shanghai real estate values skyrocketed. That is a reality that
will jump out at an aspiring property developer like Lu Ming when he gets a
chance to see the future with his own eyes. However, fate will not allow him to
profit from his advance knowledge. He also happens to be rather distracted by
his fellow time traveler, Gu Xiaojiao. They live in the same apartment during
different time periods, but suddenly they become reluctant roommates in
director-screenwriter Su Lun’s How Long
Will I Love U (trailer
here),
which opens this Friday in New York.
Gu
used to live a life of privilege, but it all collapsed after the untimely death
of her father. Lu has a vision of an exclusive building of loft condos, but his
only potential investor is conspicuously dodgy. Both are missing something in
their lives when destiny throws them together. One fateful morning, they wake
up to find their apartments have been merged together. When they leave the
flat, they enter either 1999 or 2018, depending on which one of them opened the
front door. The entire apartment is sort of like the mail box in Il Mare (The Lake House).
At
first, there is a whole lot of bickering between the two roomies, but slowly, a
sort of Tracy-and-Hepburn romantic attraction starts to percolate between them.
However, viewers also start to pick up hints that there might be some
connections between the time travelers even they are not aware of. Then they
get a load of Lu’s future (or present) self.
How Long starts out as a
mildly goofy rom-com, but it evolves into an endearingly bittersweet time
travel fantasy. Although not as tragic as Il
Mare (not even close), it gets pretty serious, wading into some heavy
themes of redemption, free will, and identity, in a reasonably credible
fashion.
Tong
Liya truly lights up the screen, making us feel for the insecure Gu, even when
she is at her poutiest and most immature moments. Playing Lu at both ages, Lei
Jiayin is awkward and reserved to a fault, which rather better suits his more calculating
older self. Still, when he allows the façade to finally crack in the third act,
it constitutes a real pay-off.