The Longest Nite
1997
Director: Patrick Yau
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Lau Ching-Wan, Maggie Shiu, Lung Fong, Lam Suet
The Longest Nite might just be one of the biggest examples of style over substance. Starting off with a seemingly simple plot involving a crooked cop (Tony Leung), a mysterious drifter (Lau Ching-Wan) and two warring crime bosses, The Longest Nite eventually becomes so convoluted that the story becomes secondary to the stylistic aspects of the film.
But, man, what style. Tony Leung, who normally plays (very) good guys, chews up the scenery as one of the meanest cops to ever grace the silver screen. Serpico would probably piss his pants if he saw some of Tony's "inventive" methods of getting information from people, which include sticking pins under fingernails and, of course, the old stand-by of the good old-fashioned beat-down. On the other hand, Lau Ching-Wan is nearly mute in his role, creating a nice juxtapostion between the two characters.
As I said before, the story becomes too involved for its' own good after a while, so nitpickers would do best to stay away from The Longest Nite. But for those who want to see how truly bad-ass a movie can be, then you should definitely check this out. In this age of pre-packaged movie stars and overly formulaic films, something like The Longest Nite is welcome. It simply oozes cool, and is one of those few films that can truly cross lingustic and cultural barriers for an enjoyable experience for all those who like the harder-hitting side of cinema.
RATING: 8
A review for the DVD of this movie can be found here
