Following his multi-awarded short “We Shall Overcome”, Kelvin Shum now presents his feature debut “Deliverance”, a family drama that also unfolds as a psychological thriller.
Deliverance is screening at Asian Pop Up Cinema
Nicole returns home to Hong Kong to work in a hospital, after being away for 15 years, and she is reunited with her brothers. However, she still clings to the shattered memory from the night of her mother's passing, continuing to be in doubt regarding her death, despite the fact that any kind of human intervention has been ruled out. Through hypnosis sessions with her big brother Joseph, who also teaches criminal psychology, she tries to remember exactly what happened, but as more memories come to the fore, she starts doubting her brothers' behavior, while her grip on reality becomes thinner and thinner. As the movie progresses, the questions pile up. Is Nicole losing it from the trauma or are her brothers lying to her? And if they are lying, do they do it to protect her or to protect themselves? When the financial issues her family faced before and the shady role of another brother, Will, comes to the fore, things become even more complicated, even more so, since Aaron, the other brother, is a policeman.
First things first. Visually, the movie is exceptional. The combination of coloring, framing, the use of shadows and lighting in general, the implementation of the slow motion and the SFX are all top notch, highlighting the work of both DP Oliver Lau and Kelvin Shum's vision in the best fashion. The combination of voyeuristic approaches with a setting that frequently looks quite claustrophobic, the nightmarish memories of Nicole, the violent and the mysterious scenes are all presented in excellent fashion, essentially being the main ingredient for the thriller aspect of the movie, as much as its overall imposing atmosphere.
Furthermore, the acting is on a rather high level, with some of the most favorite HK actors being present. Simon Yam as Joseph with his mentor/patriarch demeanor, Ron Ng as Aaron, and Justin Cheung as Will give great performances, excellently highlighting that something is wrong here, while exemplifying their chemistry. At the same time, they provide a great “circle” for Summer Chan as Nicole to shine through her interactions with them, in an approach that definitely benefits the movie.
On the other hand, some issues with the narrative do exist. Starting with the trademark illogicality of Hong Kong productions of the past, when the films focused on specific moments and not so much to the story as a whole, continuing with the abundance of characters and episodes (as in the case of the elderly patient in the hospital where Nicole works) and closing with the sense of disorientation regarding what is reality and what Nicole's imagination, the movie becomes quite difficult to follow. At the same time, Simon Yam's character is overwritten, with the fact that he also paints, apart from being a caring patriarch, father of a rebellious daughter, and a professor, ending up being highly unrealistic. Lastly, the ending, with its intensely melodramatic approach and the way a number of twists unfold detracts from the impact the story could have, particularly because it becomes obvious, after a point, what is going to happen.
On the other hand, the exploration of the concepts of love within a family, self-sacrifice, the way the parents' faults torment their children and the extreme people can reach when in intense struggle, are quite well presented, essentially carrying the movie for the majority of its duration.
As such, “Deliverance” ends up being a mixed bag. The story is confusing and incoherent on occasion, but at the same time, the visuals, the acting and some of the comments presented are quite well done, resulting in a movie that depends on what the viewer likes to focus on, in order to deem it worthy of watching.
