Comeuppance (2000)

With a simple plot outline and a close circle of characters, Derek Chiu's Comeuppance offers novel drama played against some more familiar gangland movie themes. Events kick off when a young lad named Fung (Patrick Tam) poisons gangster King and his buddies in a Karaoke lounge. Cop Michael (Sunny Chan) heads into the crime scene and gets the investigative ball rolling. And photojournalist Hak (Jordan Chan) is commissioned by his editor to write a newspaper serial column named The Kings of Underworld, inspired by the initial event.

Hak gains his inspiration from the first killings but soon Fung himself is lifting his leads from the newspaper -- in both technique and targets. The copycat trend doesn't go unnoticed, either. The editor senses a circulation boost in the wildly popular column, a top gang boss digs Hak's prose and even Michael's girlfriend suggests he not investigate too much lest the column stop and the fictitious killer not be penned a glorious final episode. And all the while, this situation's turning the underworld upside-down.

While the opening minutes in the bar may come across a little awkward, Comeuppance only gets better as it progresses and lays in detail in some good-looking visuals. The plot works efficiently but still asks for attention from the viewer, even if solutions seem simplistic at first. Characters are developed through not only what they do but even with an elegant daydream/fantasy motif, not unlike Tony Leung's Jiang Hu dance routine in style and used to good effect. As with last year's Sealed With A Kiss, director Chiu again works well with a small selection of lead actors, without threading in extraneous plot developments or overt distractions -- a quality often missing on the HK film map these days. Comeuppance is not only satisfying, but treats viewers to a developed idea worth appreciating a second time around.

If there are any asides, it's in occasional and unobtrusive pictures thrown in about Hong Kong and its people. A fun touch is the public turning out for celebrity spotting at a gangster's funeral -- they heard the dead's girlfriend was a small-time actress and thought some stars might appear! People are also shown bickering on the street, and the media is seen serialising a grisly murder event.

The cast members acquit themselves well, with all three leads being warm and fairly interesting, especially Tam. Joe Lee offers an enjoyable turn as tough gangster Brother Po, acing out with his preferred soup and Wu Hsing-kuo is plenty of fun to watch as gang boss Speck. Of the actors I cannot identify, Michael's girlfriend struck me as very natural in front of a camera. Production standards look similarly good, hardly in the high-budget realm. Comeuppance appears to have been shot in May this year, long enough ago for the nice accompanying soundtrack to be put together.

The Imperial Cinema's Comeuppance painted billboard.

Credits:

Directed by Derek Chiu Sung-kee
Produced by Johnnie To Kei-fung
Story by Benny Li
Starring Patrick Tam, Sunny Chan, Jordan Chan, Wu Hsing-kuo and Joe Lee