Review-Four Assassins-Sweet & Sour Productions
26-9-13
By: Karen Cheung
My first question to self after I finished watching the movie version of Four Assassins on Sunday night (also distastefully known among Hong Kong-ers as Usagi-should-have-aimed-for-a-better-night) was this: Why on earth would anyone even want to do an adaption of this film?
Director Candice Moore in the program notes says, "This is the first time a Hong Kong film has been adapted for the stage… Dialogue and devices that work in film do not necessarily transpose to the stage… So I have worked with the writer and the cast to make the play more theatrical while maintaining the filmic quality as I think this gives the piece a different style and theatricality."
The original film’s misleading poster intimated hardcore action but delivered a sub-Tarantino talkie with the tacky tagline, “It’s a matter of love and death”. This production by Sweet and Sour Productions Limited (in association with Studio Strada and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre) adds new dialogue to flesh out the back-stories, salvaging a stale and unconvincing love triangle and making the character of protagonist Marcus much more relatable. The re-enactments of the assassins’ hits were imaginatively realized, through a lively combination of on-screen and on-stage action; and the fight scenes were well choreographed and a welcome break from the talk-talk-talk. The scene where Marcus and Chase choke each other off was realistic enough for me to start worrying about the actors’ health/sanity.
Other film-to-stage changes I liked? The transition from hotel-room hotpot to dimsum was nicely done, overcoming the technical difficulties while keeping the jokes and the localization. The sound and set designs worked well in the space, with effective doubling of the hotel wall as a screen for cinematically lush videoscapes depicting Hong Kong harbor and street life as the show opened.The digital scene transitions, however, were clunkily awkward and the reiterated scene-setting video sequences became a trifle tedious.
There were also a couple of changes in characterization which didn’t convince. Chase is no longer the faux classy-posh guy we see on the big screen; instead, he’s a full-on thug with a (not-so) comical eye patch and a slightly stupid expression at times. While the actor Jai Day took it all in his stride and still managed to pull it off as funny, it was not as fun to watch as Oliver William’s original. Muriel Hofmann’s Cordelia lacked the cheekiness and vulnerability of Mercedes Renard in the movie making her character less fierce/independent and more unsympathetic bitch (she also pouted A LOT). Father-figure Eli (played by Rob Archibald) exhibited the most emotional range but struggled to make his more sensitive moments convincing. Marcus (Nicholas Atkinson) gave the most sustained performance throughout and managed to break out of the cliché character framework (cold-blooded killer who weakens in the face of love) with realistic sincerity.
For better or worse, most of the original dialogue from the film is here to stay. The good bits - like the 6-word Hemingway epitaph exchange – were kept and creative new lines were added that drew quite a bit of laughter from the audience, (“It was like being fucked by a gorilla…you ain’t done till the gorilla’s done.”) Overall, however, it didn’t lose any of the film’s cheesiness; some of my personal (non)favourites include, “It was the usual business meeting…but maybe things weren’t quite so simple” and “Do you know how much it hurts to be the other woman?”
I wasn’t too sure what the production was trying to achieve beyond doing something that’s never been done before in Hong Kong. Having mostly stayed true to the original, it hasn’t breathed new life into a very slow-paced and predictable plot. Long story short, if you were one of those who thought the film deserved its 3.6 rating on IMDB, you probably won’t enjoy this either. If you’re expecting action and suspense on a par with Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, you’ll be bored to tears. But if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and immerse yourself in an evening of decent acting, well-staged action, and discussions of timeless problems in love, this may just be for you.
*
Four Assassins is playing at the Hong Kong Rep Black Box in Sheung Wan through Sunday. For more information, click here.
Comments
I'm broke
As much as I would like to see amateur productions in HK, 280 per ticket is too expensive and I can't afford it. And I am sure a lot of people feel the same about it.
27 September 2013Michael Rogers
I admire anyone who writes reviews for any show or film. It's not an easy task. However, this review struck a nerve with me simply because of the first sentence. Why would you watch the film before going to review a staged version of the same story? There is no just cause for comparing the two. In fact, I would say its like comparing apples to oranges. As an audience member, I would have found it difficult to have an independent opinion on the performance if I had the movie fresh in my mind. I would personally been disappointed had the stage performance mimicked the movie.There is nothing like a live show. I know that several members of the cast made a conscious choice to not watch the firm in order to form their own version of the characters. In the end, we all are entitled to our own opinion and I do respect the opinion of the reviewer.
29 September 2013Ugh
Interesting point mike. I counter with legally blonde, the musical as an example. Are you saying that the girls playing the lead in this should have no knowledge of Reese wither spoons performance of Elle Woods? When a movie is the basis of the play I think you have to expect the audience to want a similar experience.
04 October 2013Michael Rogers
Dear Ugh, Have we met?
05 October 2013
I understand your point regarding the character of Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, however, the beauty of theatre is there is no right or wrong way to play a character. Personally, if I saw an impression of Reese Witherspoon's Elle Woods on a live stage I would probably ask for my money back.
I also wonder how the actress playing the role would feel knowing she's just doing a carbon copy of someone else's work, or worse fearing she couldn't put her own interpretation on the character of Elle Woods due to preconceived notions.
I agree the audience will want a similar experience to the movie, but I maintain it should always be a different one. Whether the live show exceeds audience expectation or makes them question the interpretation of the characters, the point of theatre is to provoke thought and emotion.
The basis of my point derives from Peter Brook's "The Empty Space" in which he references "Deadly Theatre" and the effects it can have on both the audience and the artists.