RATING: 2.5/5
AFTER receiving less-than-enthusiastic review in the much-delayed LADY COP AND PAPA CROOK shown earlier this year, directors Felix Chong and Alan Mak bounce back with this highly-anticipated thriller that is obviously trying to capitalize the phenomenal success of their INFERNAL AFFAIRS trilogy. The good news is, OVERHEARD delivers the much-needed cinematic vibe that this year's Hong Kong cinema has been noticeably lackluster these days. It's a solid, entertaining and well-cast thinking man's thriller that brilliantly tackles the subject of eavesdropping to create a thought-provoking look of corporate fraud, stock market frenzy and internal characters' conflict. The bad news is, this is hardly INFERNAL AFFAIRS vibe, and at times the film is also overly melodramatic. And given so much hype surrounded this film, it's also quite disappointing that they doesn't push their hot-button issues far enough to turn this into a more worthwhile experience. Perhaps because of the SARFT (State Administration of Radio, Film and Television) strict rules, this China-funded thriller have to settle with a somewhat superficial level.
The film centers on Johnny (Lau Ching-Wan), Gene (Louis Koo) and Max (Daniel Wu), three cops who are all best friends, working for the CCB (Commercial Crime Bureau). They are part of a special team assigned to spy on business firm E&T, owned by Will Ma (Michael Wong) who is suspected for illegal stock fixing and other crime factors. They conduct their investigation by sneaking into the office building during the night, placing hidden cameras and microphones so they can eavesdrop on E&T execs across the building. Night after night, they observe against a sleazy executive Mr. Low (Waise Lee) who spends time flirting with his secretary-cum-mistress (Queenie Chu). When they get bored, Gene and Max find time to amuse themselves by tapping into their fellow cops, Mary (Sharon Luk) and Joe's (William Chan) cellphones to find out about their hidden relationships. Then one night, Gene and Max overhear Mr. Low tipping off his secretary on stock-rigging secrets. Realizing that this is a golden opportunity to make a quick buck, they doesn't hesitate to invest their hard-earned savings, even though they know such move is an unlawful conduct to do so. Still, they have their own personal reasons to do so -- Gene's son is suffering from cancer, while he himself has a terminal illness that he will die in a year's time. He also hopes to leave his family with enough money after he's gone. As for Max, he is about to marry his wealthy girlfriend, Jenny (Grace Huang) and he really needs a lot of money to do so, especially his father-in-law David (Henry Fong) often looks down at him for being a mere cop with low salary income. Except for Johnny, who won't lay his hand for the illegal wrongdoings no matter what. However, he is eventually forced to cover the track of his fellow friends as he can't afford to report against them. Johnny still has his own agenda -- he is dating Mandy (Zhang Jingchu), the estranged wife of his cop buddy Kelvin (Alex Fong Chung-Sun). Much of the tension comes from the characters' increasing conflict as they eventually find themselves going too far off that there are no turning back.
This is no doubt the film's strongest point, and also thanks to this superb cast, the result is simply exceptional. After a long hiatus since his tour de force performance in MAD DETECTIVE (2007), he returns with a bang in an emotionally-gripping performance as the righteous but deeply conflicted Johnny. Louis Koo, who put on 30 pound and shed his usual cool image to act an older person, is similarly credible as Gene while Daniel Wu is perfectly typecast as the naive younger cop, Max. The supporting actors, especially, Zhang Jingchu, Alex Fong Chung-Sun and Lam Ka-Wah turn in solid performances. Only Michael Wong completely hams it up as Will Ma, in a laughable role that almost ruins the intensity of the film.
Technical credits are top-notch, with Anthony Pun's perfectly discreet cinematography and the film's sound design is especially well done. Chan Kwong-Wing's score is dramatic enough but tends to go overboard.
Overall, it's not exactly a great cinema one is hoping for but remains a fairly satisfying one to look out for.