Film: Connected
Release date: 20th September 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 110 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Louis Koo, Barbie Hsu, Nick Cheung, Ye Liu, Fan Siu-Wong
Genre: Action/Crime/Thriller
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD
Country: China/Hong Kong
Connected is the latest film from Director Benny Chan - and evidence that, while the American’s may enjoy cherry picking the finest Asian movies for remake, it’s not all one way traffic.
Bob’s simply isn‘t happy with his life. He’s an amicable, friendly sort, trapped in the decidedly unfriendly occupation of debt collector. He’s also a single father whose sister is immigrating to Australia with his son, thinking him unfit.
Faced with immense pressure to be a better dad, a better brother, a better worker and an all round better person, Bob’s life seems empty and purposeless. That is until his phone rings unexpectedly. On the line is a woman, Grace, who claims that she and her daughter are the victims of a kidnapping. Is it a poor practical joke, or is Bob genuinely her only lifeline?
With the police quickly dismissing the claims as a joke in bad taste, Bob’s instincts tell him otherwise. He realises he may just be the only one who can prevent the victims suffering a painful and undeserved death. The question is, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the problems he already faces, will Bob put his own welfare aside and risk everything, including his son, for two people who may not even exist...
Connected is a rare beast indeed. One of the tiny minority of remakes that are better than the original source material on which they’re based. That being said, the American original - Cellular - was no masterpiece. It was a mildly diverting show with an interesting, original central idea - two strangers linked only by a phone call which, for one, presents a disturbing distraction from life, and, for the other, a last chance at survival.
Benny Chan’s has airlifted the concept and transported it to the bustling metropolis of Hong Kong. The change of location is only the beginning as Chan also opts to change the central characters, as well as trying to provide a more realistic story arc. In Connected, Cellular’s Ryan (a beach bum slacker type) is replaced by Bob (played by Louis Koo), who, to all intents and purposes, comes across as your average working adult.
Bob’s employment as a debt collector serves as an easily accessible insight into the world he inhabits. In one early scene, smartly dressed in his shirt and tie, we see Bob watching as a gang of hired thugs threaten a mother and her two young children over an unpaid family debt. As he helplessly clutches his briefcase while his ‘colleagues’ proceed, it is obvious that here is a man with a conscience - a man who is ill suited not only to his job, but to the world he lives in.
As mentioned, he is also a single father, and Bob is struggling to do right by his son almost as badly as he is in his own life. The day Bob gets the phone call from Grace Wong, claiming that she has been kidnapped and needs his help desperately, is the same day his son is due to move to Australia and disappear from his life altogether. The central character’s readiness to ignore his own problems and set out to be a hero was definitely one of the major weaknesses of Cellular. But Benny Chan, who also co-wrote this adaptation, has obviously considered this in his version. Why would anyone believe this stranger and risk his own life to save her? Chan answers this question: skilfully setting Bob up early on as the sort of person who couldn’t ignore Grace, while, at the same time, showing us a chain of events that explain why he’d reject the notion that she’s an impostor.
Connected also represents a slight change of pace for a director whose name is synonymous with big-budget action movies. For one thing, there are fewer action set-pieces here than in the likes of New Police Story. Well aware that Bob is not an action hero, Chan instead opts to crank up the tension, as well as adding some fairly dark humour, as time ticks away for both Grace and Bob.
Mr. Chan has also toned down the emotional histrionics which were arguably the most cringe worthy aspects of more recent movies like Robin B. Hood. While the single father aspect of Bob’s life is inevitably touched on, it is never excessively mined, so, for precisely this reason, it is all the more affecting.
Most of the credit for this audience engagement must go to charismatic star Louis Koo. He turns in a fine performance as the ordinary man thrust into an extraordinary situation that calls on every ounce of his courageous instincts. The knowledge that Koo performed many of his own stunts lends his portrayal of Bob an even greater level of credibility and honesty.
Connected is probably the first major Chinese remake of a Hollywood movie. As such, it ticks all the boxes a remake should. While fairly faithful to the source, it recognises and addresses the weaknesses the original displayed. While some would say it’s no great achievement to improve Cellular, Connected is an engaging and enjoyable thriller that does just that. Besides, isn’t it refreshing to learn that the Asia to Hollywood gravy train makes the occasional return trip? PD
