[KFCC] Juliet in Love Review

Story: Judy (Sandra Ng) returns to her hometown to live with her Grandfather after a failed marriage. While acting as a hostess at a local restaurant her path briefly crosses with that of Jordan’s (Francis Ng), a small time street hustler with some big debts and sorrows of his own. Tragedy soon befalls Judy again when her Grandfather is involved in a road accident. By chance her path intersects once again with that of Jordan’s. She and Jordan are soon given the responsibility of caregivers to the child of the loan shark to whom Jordan is indebted.

Review: This film is just another example of how amazing Francis Ng and Sandra Ng (no relation) can be if given the proper film to work with. Throughout their careers as actors they have both had their fair share of disposable stinkers in which they were the only shining light in a sea of wasted celluloid. This is the Hong Kong way though. You would be pretty hard pressed to come across any actor or actress who lucks out with a blockbuster every time. In JULIET IN LOVE we come across a rare treat though. We find not only the male lead with the amazing talent but a female lead who would have been more than capable of carrying the weight of a lesser skilled counterpart. Add those two key elements with the ultimate ingredient of a well written drama and you end up with a winning combination.

The casual Hong Kong cinema fan may initially associate Francis Ng with his regular role as the triad heavy. I challenge those fans to search out some of Francis Ng’s dramatic endeavors in order to see the true scale of this mans abilities. In JULIET IN LOVE we find Francis Ng portraying a lost man who has made many careless mistakes in his life. He possesses hope, though, which is the driving force behind his character. His ultimately good nature and vulnerability will most likely be the emotional connection that most viewers make with him.

Sandra Ng does an outstanding job of conveying a broken woman. Love has hurt her in the past and she displays this anguish with an uncanny ability. I found the interaction between Sandra and Francis to be reminiscent to that of Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in Wong Kar Wai’s film IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. Two people who long to find happiness in one another’s embrace but opposing forces manage to hinder this union. The difference between the two being that Judy and Jordan both are harboring old emotional baggage instead of estranged spouses.

An honorable mention for supporting role should be made of Simon Yam and his performance as loan shark N.T. On. Without this character acting as a catalyst the relationship between Jordan and Judy would have never went the distance. Yam manages to move back and forth across the fine line of ruthless criminal and concerned family man. Not a huge part of the film but definitely an aspect which added depth and acted as metaphor for the duality that both Judy and Jordan possessed.

Truly underrated or perhaps just unknown, JULIET IN LOVE shines as a Hong Kong drama with some substance. With all the key pieces in place this film is set to stimulate the heart of anyone willing to open up to it, for better or for worse.