Lust, Caution review

I finally had the chance to see Lust, Caution this weekend. Bravo, Mr. Ang Lee. I think it was the best film I've seen all year. I liked Brokeback Mountain, but this movie kicks its ass. Tony Leung and newcomer Tang Wei were phenomenal in their roles, and there was enough action and drama to keep me interested throughout the movie.

You can read the synopsis here, but basically it's a story about Shanghai in the early 1940s. Tony Leung is Yee, a collaborator with the Japanese government. Tang Wei is Wong Chia Chi, a young girl who becomes involved with a student-run resistance group. In a plot to kill Yee, Wong initiates an affair with Yee. The movie spans four years and shows Wong evolving from a young girl to a woman willing to use her sexuality for a deadly purpose. Gradually the relationship between Yee and Wong becomes so heated that she begins to lose control of her role.

The movie is almost three hours long, but it doesn't "feel" like three hours. I was so entranced by the drama and the performances that I was hooked from the beginning. When the ending came, I was almost surprised that it was over. I don't want to give anything away, but it's an intelligent movie. The ending wasn't predictable, and it made complete sense. It makes me sad that more people won't see this movie. It's in limited release, and it is NC-17.

Speaking of which, I'm so glad that Ang Lee didn't try to make this movie into R-rated. I loved the sizzling sex scenes in this film. You rarely see Asian couples in Hollywood, so it was refreshing to see two attractive Asians being very erotic and open with each other. There are a lot of movies with Asian females being sexual characters, but we hardly ever see Asian males as sexual. Tony Leung is sizzling hot, and the chemistry between Wei and Leung was something to behold. (When I saw Wei's pubic hair, I almost gasped. It's been so long since I've seen female pubic hair in a movie.) They don't hide much in their scenes, and you can tell that the heat between them is genuine.

There are three scenes that are pretty graphic. In a few moments, I was convinced that the two are actually having sex. Each scene is erotic and very well-shot. I like that the scenes have a progression that is tied into the story. In the first sex scene, it's all about raw sexuality that borders on brutality with Leung taking complete control of the sexually inexperienced Wei. In the second scene, the two have forged a connection that goes beyond sex. You can see it when they come together in a very intimate position. The third scene shows Leung being vulnerable for the first time. For a brief moment, Wei exerts her dominance and he lets her. It was hot and beautiful at the same time. I was turned on throughout these scenes. I took full advantage of this pent-up sexual energy after the movie.

The best scene in the movie was a tender moment between Wong and Yee. She expresses her feelings through a song, and he responds with a shedded tear. It sounds sappy, but it works so well. He carries so much emotion in his eyes. With a glance, he says more than any number of lines could. This was such a sexy movie, and I fell in love with both characters. You can tell Ang loves the look of the 40s: the coiffed curls, the dresses, the cherry red lips, the cigarette dangling from dainty fingers. Visually it's a great movie. If you don't have the chance to see this, get it when it comes out on DVD. It was that good.