Despite
his brilliance, Fang Mu was cut loose from the police force when he became a
suspect in the disappearance of an accused child rapist. However, he was just
too smart to let him go completely, so they keep him on as a side consultant.
Mi Nan will be the latest cop to seek his gruffly arrogant consultation. Of
course, they do not get on well at first, but they come to respect each other
over time.
As
things often happen in mystery novels, Mi Nan’s current case and the missing
suspect that indirectly led to Fang Mu’s ouster may in fact be related. They
soon discover there is a psychopath loose in the city. He preys on the
notorious, whose actions brought harm to others, but escaped punishment, except
for an online pillorying from the outraged Netizens.
Xu
offers up some earnest finger-wagging regarding online shaming and harassment,
but Liquidator has neither the
seriousness or the heft of a film like Chen Kaige’s bizarrely under-appreciated
Caught in the Web. For the killer,
Jiang Ya (whose identity is revealed early in the second act), motivation and
logic are rather slippery and inconsistent. Frankly, it makes no sense how he
could continue to maintain his credibility as “The Light of the City” after a truly
awful murder of a complete innocent. The crime is also a buzzkill for viewers,
for multiple reasons.
Deng
Chao is just okay as the shaggy, world-weary Fang, but Ethan Juan Ching-tien is
only incrementally darker and more intense as Jiang. In contrast, Vicky Chen (Wen
Qi), who was so extraordinary in Angels Wear White and The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful, is again altogether electrifying and heart-breaking as
Liao Yafan, the victim of the missing perp, who Fang subsequently adopted. Karena
Lam is also quite haunting as Jiang’s (almost literally) petrified wife, Wei
wei, while Cecilia Liu Shi Shi is appealing tough and forceful as Mi Nan (and
she has a nifty opening chase scene).
Ironically,
The Liquidator really makes us
curious to see Guilty of Mind,
because it has a lot of promising elements, but neither Deng or Juan really
click in their roles, despite the spectacularly brutal fight scene between them
Xu stages. It also takes itself a bit too seriously, missing the irony of its
rousing defense of the rule of law (surely all the human rights attorneys and
HK booksellers being held incommunicado would desperately like to have a little
bit of that). Still, there are a few shocking twists and several terrific
supporting turns that redeem The Liquidator
as a VOD movie, but everyone in Sitges should prioritize newer films when
it screens tomorrow (10/8) as part of the festival.