A Witness Out of the Blue Review 2019 Hong Kong 犯罪現場

A Witness Out of the Blue 犯罪現場
Year: 2019
Director: Andrew Fung
Writer: Andrew Fung
Cast: Louis Koo, Louis Cheung, Jessica Hsuan, Cherry Ngan, Philip Keung
Running Time: 104 minutes
Country: Hong Kong

Louis and Louis deliver great performances in this sleek crime thriller.

An offbeat award-winning Hong Kong murder mystery that’s part police thriller and part Freudian psychodrama. After a criminal is found dead, police suspect that the murder is linked to an earlier violent jewellery store robbery, with the only witness being a talking parrot. Also known as a screenwriter for Stephen Chow and Johnnie To, Fung Chih-chiang has previously tackled the western, musical and media satire genres, and continues to surprise with his highly entertaining fourth directorial outing, which offers a fresh, fun perspective on the detective noir, and boasts a fantastic ensemble cast.

Writer/Director Andrew Fung is back, and this time he dips his toes into the crime genre. While the script might seem a little convoluted, the mystery and performances are strong enough to keep the film entertaining throughout.

The ever-reliable Louis Koo shines once again and proves to the haters why he seems to be in nearly every commercial Hong Kong film released in the past two years. Koo plays the character Sean Wong, a criminal with some heart. He's bad, but he's not all bad. Right? Wong is an intriguing character that has his faults but is still likeable. There is a side story with him living in an apartment with elderly people and a partially sighted woman that seems tonally different from the majority of the film. The main story is often pretty dark but they managed to provide some laughs and heartwarming moments with the introduction of these characters. The change in tones might be jarring for some people, for others it might be a welcome break.

The rest of the main cast are all great in their roles. While Louis Cheung plays Larry Lam as a a good-guy cop, he's also not exactly good at his job. And this is something that works in the film's favour. Lam is constantly getting into bother or getting one-upped by criminals. But because they have established him as a nice guy, you end up anxious and fearing the worst for him. Philip Keung is another extremely reliable actor and he keeps viewers on their toes in his role as the Police Inspector. And last but not least, the parrot. The parrot is an interesting plot device that really starts to have more purpose later on, but it definitely has charm and made me laugh more than once.

The cinematography is good, but also plain. The film looks polished, but also kind of flat. Some of the shots look great, but then some look repetitious. This might seem like nitpicking, but from a thriller like this, you would expect more style. The look is very similar to a bunch of recent Hong Kong films such as The White Storm 2 or Integrity. They look fine overall, maybe even good at times, but it feels like they could do more stylistically.

While the plot might be a little convoluted, it's also intriguing and full of twists to keep you engaged. Some viewers might be able to guess what is going on, but they throw enough at you to make you question yourself. There are some fun set pieces throughout to keep the action fans happy, and the conclusion of the film is very memorable. They manage to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.

7/10

A Witness Out of the Blue is streaming as part of the Focus Hong Kong Film Festival from the 9th of February at 10:00 GMT until the 15th of February at 23:59 GMT.