by Leon Overee
“Precious Is the Night” is Singapore's entry for Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. Hoping to achieve the herculean task of getting his film nominated is the much-lauded filmmaker, Wayne Peng. The director, known for his expertise in commercials, helms the title that would be the Southeast Asian nation's fifteenth entry at the Oscars since “The Kingdom and The Beauty” (1959).
A piercing gaze starts off this dark and moody thriller that oozes art house charm right at the get-go. We are introduced to one contemporary writer (Chuando Tan) who stumbles upon a pile of 1969 newspaper articles detailing the deaths of a wealthy socialite Ku Yang (played by Taiwanese model Nayeli in her film debut) and a physician, Dr Tan (also played by Chuando), who, strangely, is a complete Doppelganger of the writer.
The excited scribe begins to probe into the mystery of the murders and smashes furiously at his typewriter, churning out his version of the events that took place. After countless facial close-ups of servant girls Bi Xia (Chang Tsu-Lei) and Bao Cui (Chen Yixin) and of one of them daydreaming, the story picks up pace and lets us into the estate of disgruntled socialite Ku Yang. Overcome by loneliness and despair, the nubile debutante stares at the ground and at her mirror, yearning for the day that she could finally bear children for her Master (played by popular Singaporean actor, Tay Ping Hui). In addition to staring at blank spaces, Ku Yang's other pastimes include getting her personal physician, Dr.Tan, to pay her regular house-call visits.
The dashing Dr.Tan walks into the lavish mid-century mansion of Ku Yang in a split-screen scene, a pastiche of crime capers past, like “Kill Bill Vol. 1” (2003) and “Ocean's 13” (2007). The good doctor subsequently administers her with a potent dose of medicine, amphetamines and then some; with the pair engaging in a lustful and sensual tryst that kickstarts a slow-burning tale that skirts with danger and emits an air of intrigue that engages the audience from the start. However, the more it is revealed about the truth of the deaths surrounding the illicit couple, the more we are treated to excessive zoomed-in shots of antique sewing machines, kettles, radios, and of the servant girls' every facial flaw and pore.
While engaging at the start, the film slowly descends into the territory of yawnsville as it sizzles but then fizzles over its 80 minutes runtime. It could be the case of the director being comfortable in his element of commercials-shooting, but the movie lacks meat, and the plot is shallow, owing to perhaps more effort taken to put together a more aesthetically pleasing picture.
The camerawork is stunning and showcases director Wayne's prowess at the lens. A highlight of the film is its ability to replicate and evoke the charming nuances of 1969s Singapore- from the old-school wardrobe, newspaper mastheads and nostalgic tracks blasting off the radio including the hugely popular 1967 hit ‘This Precious Night' by mandopop singer Ciu Ping. One particular attention to detail that stands out is the syringe that Dr.Tan uses to administer the drugs for Ku Yang bearing a ‘Made in W. Germany' written on it.
The angst-ridden screenplay does not achieve the pizzazz it needs from the self-indulgent scenes that plays out over the movie's second act, with dull repetitive images of Chuando typing intensely and then taking a forty-five second gratuitous slow-motion shower baring his chiselled abdomen and bottoms, amongst other questionable scenes.
Speaking of which, the incredibly youthful-looking 54-year-old Chuando fits the ‘tall, dark and handsome brooder with skeletons in his closet' role of Dr.Tan like a glove and he effectively portrays a character almost half his actual age. As well as Dr. Tan, another character that stands out is that of the senior matron (Xiang Yun) in charge of Ku Yang, who in one outstanding scene, belittles and insults the younger socialite's apparent barrenness with ‘evil stepmother' acidity aided in part by her grizzled mascara-abusing appearance.
After all is said and done, “Precious is The Night's narrative is akin to a fine porcelain vase holding artificial flowers. While the film delivers on all fronts in its striking ad-worthy cinematography under the Peng, it sinks in terms of lazy storytelling. Punctuated so by a very abrupt and flat ending that is no doubt visually arresting but also one of the most old-fashioned and repeated tropes in the book. Maybe Singapore will be sixteenth time lucky at the Oscars in 2023…
