Admirers Should Heed Caution on ‘Lust, Caution’ From Award-Winning Director Ang Lee

CHICAGO – After screening “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” and the assassination-motivated “Lust, Caution” this past week, I’m convinced assassinating someone would be a painfully slow and awkward process to actually carry out.


Tony Leung Chiu Wai in “Lust, Caution”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Unlike “Jesse James,” which resonated with beauty and emotion, the worth of “Lust, Caution” doesn’t seem apparent until the last act of the 157-minute film, which is filled with more love than lust and much more caution than action.

“Lust, Caution” is based on a short story by Eileen Chang. There have been claims that some of the events in the plot might have actually occurred.


Director Ang Lee in “Lust, Caution”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Moved by the political climate in World War II-era Shanghai, a group of college theater students feel empowered to rededicate their lives as gorilla spies and try to off a powerful collaborator to the Japanese.

Young and naïve, things gradually become more complex as the nubile Wang Jiazhi (Wei Tang) falls in love while playing the mistress of Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). He is the man they are trying to kill.


Wei Tang in “Lust, Caution”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While the picture is visually beautiful and effectively recreates 1940s China, the biggest problem that University of Illinois alum Ang Lee faced was in his pacing.

There are long periods of heavy discourse and little to no action taking place over Mahjong games, conspiracy planning and discussion of earlier Mahjong games. Reading the English subtitles to the Mandarin-based dialogue sometimes felt like little more than studying for a class in 20th century Asian political systems.

The film was released in the U.S. with an “NC-17” rating due to about nine minutes of on-screen intercourse that looks like an aggressive version of what you see on late-night Cinemax. Surprisingly, despite the wartime backdrop, there is very little bloodshed actually shown.


Lee-Hom Wang in “Lust, Caution”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
If Lee was trying to make a film of romance and patriotism, he greatly missed the mark.

The characters feel cold. You don’t feel particularly attached to the student’s cause and you don’t entirely feel the love in the affair. Fans of the Academy Award-winning director should take caution. This picture lacks the vision of his previous work.

By Dustin Levell
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com

© 2007 Dustin Levell, HollywoodChicago.com