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Lust, Cautionby Ari
Ang Lee has developed into something of a master with this film, and it amazes and inspires me that he continues to hone his skill from film to film. I didn’t expect Lee to surpass Brokeback Mountain so soon, but with this film he does so with ease. Lust, Caution is a seductive, mature, surprisingly uncompromising tale of espionage, identity and love. The relationship between Tang Wei’s character Mak Tai Tai (the false name she uses for her mission) and Tony Leung’s brutal Mr. Yee, is difficult, intricate, and tragically affecting. These are two of the most meticulously written and brilliantly performed characters I’ve seen in film this year - characters that challenge and engross the viewer in every suspenseful moment.
Before there was Mak Tai Tai, there was a bright and passionate student named Wong Chia Chi who floored audiences with her theater performances in Japanese occupied Shanghai during World War II. She performed patriotic political plays at her university with her equally passionate and inspired friends, lead by her director Kuang Yu Min (Wang Leehom). Once the troupe decides to make a real and important political difference, they devise a plan to assassinate Mr. Yee, a collaborator with the Japanese who helps squash the Chinese resistance. The troupe are amateurs at best, but their idealism and passion leads them into the most dangerous of circumstances. Wong Chia Chi turns herself into Mak Tai Tai and befriends Mr. Yee’s wife through games of Mah-jong. Eventually she’s introduced to Mr. Yee and the two have an immediate connection. Her goal is to become his mistress in order to place him in the right position (pun intended) for his execution. While her first attempt to manipulate Mr. Yee is disrupted unexpectedly and results in bloodshed, her mission is continued to greater success three years later. Once their full on affair ensues, the emotional and psychological issues of loyalty, duty and understanding are dangerously complicated. We never actually see Mr. Yee’s acts of brutality, but we hear about his interrogations, betrayals and methods of torture from others around him. There’s a serious rage boiling inside of him, and it’s brilliantly and subtly expressed by Tony Leung’s powerful work. He plays the character with a mixture of self-contempt and shocking aggression, but still maintains a sense of charm and sophistication. He becomes a tragic figure of sorts by the end of the film, and it’s amazing that you feel any sort of sympathy for him at all. There’s something gradually devastating about the way he interacts with Mak Tai Tai throughout the film, and it’s through the explicit sexuality that the full emotion of the characters are presented. Actress Tang Wei is nothing short of remarkable as Mak Tai Tai, a role so demanding, complex and fearless that you’re simply left in stunned admiration by the time the credits roll. There’s a reason Lust, Caution is NC-17. The sexuality is extremely raw and intense, but it’s absolutely necessary for understanding who these people are. It’s not meant to arouse the viewer and it’s not excessive or gratuitous. These sequences are about defining the relationship between the two characters - about exploring and revealing the complexity of who they are and what they do. There’s an emotional arc to the sex that’s incredibly profound - like nothing seen on film in quite some time. These are striking moments that are masterfully executed by Ang Lee and his actors. Yes, there are explicit images that make you question whether it’s simulated penetration or actually real, but that’s a testament to how skilled a filmmaker Ang Lee has become. The raw nature of the sex serves a thematic purpose, and it’s handled with an intellectual depth that we’ve previously seen from people like Bertolucci or Kaufman. This is Ang Lee’s best work yet and one of the year’s essential films. |
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