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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully filmed & minimal dialog... a relationship film, October 12, 2003
By A Customer
I originally saw this in the theater, where the sound quality was rather poor, and I ended up missing some of the dialog. Given that this movie is rather minimalist in terms of dialog missing *any* dialog is a lot. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing.... the silences are those that actually occur in real life -- the awkward silences and the comfortable silences -- or at least in the life of a character who is not particularly garrulous.The main character, Michael, is your typical Strong, Silent Type... the responsible son who stayed to work in the family business. The sense of obligation and duty rests on his shoulders, but you don't get the feeling that it is necessarily a heavy burden. And while there is a faint sense of restlessness or a mild discontent about him (he is obviously very intelligent... "a mechanic who reads"), being the keeper-of-the-family-things is simply who he is. Now, this is not necessarily an Asian thing... he could be Italian or Jewish too. But there is something about him (not just his face) with which Asian-Americans identify: we *know* him...he is our friend, our cousin, our brother... Michael's silence, his distance, is his wall of protection... perhaps another thing with which Asian-Americans can identify. Yet, perhaps because of his sense of Family Duty, there is also a bit of The Hero about him. His tenant (Lori) has the typical Jerk Boyfriend (Justin). While Michael may be annoyed with their sessions of loud sex, and perhaps more annoyed about her habit of coming upstairs afterwards to fall asleep in his arms, he doesn't complain... the Hero in him senses that, while she may be with Justin, there is something wrong enough about their relationship that she feels needs a sleep in a place she feels safe. It doesn't mean that a part of him doesn't resent it a bit, but he is the Nice Guy to this Nice Girl in a relationship with The Jerk. He is that sort of "asexual", nice guy that women trust... though perhaps because of his wall, he also doesn't allow himself to notice the women who are *not* in dysfunctional relationships who are interested in him. Enter "Darcy". Darcy is mysterious. Michael doesn't know whether she really has a place to stay. Playing the Hero again, he sort of lets her stay at his place, no strings attached. She is intelligent, self-assured, and has traveled a lot. Darcy has her own issues. She knows all about men who are attracted to those Asian women who are "tiny and petite, with a high voice" (like Lori), things she is not. Yet she has also noticed that those same men have all been jerks. Rather than be used, Darcy is a User. She puts out a strong, self-assured, animal vibe that men are attracted to (and is perhaps what made Michael notice her at the Club). The little games she plays (the mind games, the sex), are her wall of protection against the insecurity of not being the typical Petite Asian Girl, the ones that Jerks are attracted to, and to whom guys like Michael like to play Hero. She doesn't want a hero. She doesn't want to *need* anyone. And yet... she senses the Michael is different: he doesn't just want a quick, shallow relationship... "No shortcuts," he says. And Darcy recognizes that the things that keep him in his family house and his family business don't necessarily bind him, but are simply who he really is: steady, loyal...nice. And so, it is comes as a shock to her when he decides that, for once, he doesn't *want* to be The Nice Guy. It is that horrible moment when two people have their guards down and slipped out from behind their their carefully contructed walls, and become exactly opposite of what the other needs them to be.
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DVD ~ Sung Kang
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