'Vortex': Shanghai Review

Dir: Gan Jianyu. China. 2019. 104 mins

A mechanic tries to pay off his gambling debts by taking on some work that is “just on the edge of the law” in Vortex, a crime thriller that may feel interminable to those who are sucked (or suckered) in. Produced by Cao Baoping, who demonstrated a flair for the genre with his directorial outings The Equation of Love and Death (2008), The Dead End (2015) and Cock and Bull (2016), this drama lacks the strong characterisation or sense of locale that bolstered those previous titles. It may be packed with the requisite moral dilemmas, botched exchanges and double-crosses, but director Gan Jianyu handles these stock elements in such a rote manner that interest rapidly dwindles as the situation escalates.

Events barrel forward at the hectic pace now typical of China’s commercial thrillers

Opening domestically on August 16, Vortex may struggle to find audiences at home. Despite gradual censorship relaxations that have allowed crime films to develop a presence in China’s multiplex market, the genre has yet to find significant box office success. Given that even the expertly crafted Savage flopped in April, it’s hard to see this run-of-the-mill entry breaking the trend. Internationally, Vortex may sneak into some Asian-themed festivals before a move to streaming catalogues.

After being cheated at the local after-hours gambling den, Liu Xiaojun (an atypically serious turn by comedian Da Peng) is forced to accept a questionable proposition from shady business associate Wan Lao (Cao Bingkun). Tasked with stealing back unregistered cars for unscrupulous dealer Wan can resell them, Liu gets more trouble than he bargained for when boosting the first vehicle results in a violent altercation with thugs Xia Tu (Sha Baoliang) and Xia Xu (Ou Hao). Matters deteriorate further when the beleaguered mechanic finds kidnapped five-year-old Qiqi (Doo Ulantoya) in the trunk.

Reluctantly embroiled in a scheme that also involves Taser-wielding nightclub hostess Zhang Xi (Li Meng),  Liu  resolves to return Qiqi to her mother while still aiming to alleviate his financial circumstances by arranging to collect the ransom. However, Xia Tu and Xia Xu are the kind of career criminals who don’t give up so easily. Their capacity for death and destruction soon attracts the attention of the police with Detective Wang (Cao Weiyu), the former partner of Liu’s deceased father, heading up the investigation.

With a familiar plot, Vortex is in sore need of a lead protagonist for the audience to root for but Liu is more of a loathsome deadbeat than a relatable everyman. Trying to shift into dramatic roles, Da flounders whether the screenplay calls for a bout of desperation or a burst of ingenuity. He often seems exasperated by the lack of punch lines or sarcastic asides and is crucially unable to pull off his character’s forced redemptive arc. Some  dark humour might have helped the actor pull this challenge off.

Still, Da has more to work with than most of the cast who are saddled with thankless roles that are secondary to perfunctory twists. An exception is the close-cropped thug played by Ou whose stealthy presence and physical dexterity make for a decent, if underwritten, antagonist. While his big introduction delivers a brief jolt of excitement, subsequent encounters and escapes become repetitive to the point that all sense of menace peters out, even with events barreling forward at the hectic pace now typical of China’s commercial thrillers.

Although there are no apparent aspirations to social commentary beyond the broad opinion that feeling downtrodden is no excuse for breaking the law, Vortex has an unrelenting grimness that makes it tough to sit through. Shooting in the southwest metropolis of Chongqing, Gan and cinematographer Cheng Mazhiyuan push for grittiness but end up with a murky palette that fails to take advantage of the city’s particular features, aside from its cable car system, which is used for a money drop sequence. 

‘Vortex’: Review

By John Berra

Dir: Gan Jianyu. China. 2019. 104 mins

 

A mechanic tries to pay-off his gambling debts by taking on some work that is “just on the edge of the law” in Vortex, a crime thriller that will prove interminable to those who are sucked (or suckered) in. Produced by Cao Baoping, who demonstrated a flair for the genre with his directorial outings The Equation of Love and Death (2008), The Dead End (2015) and Cock and Bull (2016), this effort lacks the strong characterization or sense of locale that bolstered those previous titles. It may be packed with the requisite moral dilemmas, botched exchanges and double-crosses, but director Gan Jianyu handles these stock elements in such a rote manner that interest rapidly dwindles as the situation escalates.

 

Opening domestically on August 16, Vortex will likely be ignored by local moviegoers. Despite gradual censorship relaxations that have allowed crime films to develop a presence in China’s multiplex market, the genre has yet to find significant box office success. Given that even the expertly crafted Savage flopped in April, it’s hard to see this run of the mill entry breaking the trend. Internationally, Vortex may sneak into some Asian-themed festivals but will otherwise take a swift trip to streaming obscurity.

 

Having been cheated at the local after-hours gambling den, Liu Xiaojun (an atypically serious turn by comedian Da Peng) is forced to accept a questionable proposition from shady business associate Wan Lao (Cao Bingkun). Tasked with stealing back unregistered cars so that unscrupulous dealer Wan can resell them, Liu gets more trouble than he had bargained for when boosting the first vehicle results in a violent altercation with thugs Xia Tu (Sha Baoliang) and Xia Xu (Ou Hao). Matters become even worse when the beleaguered mechanic finds kidnapped five-year-old Qiqi (Doo Ulantoya) in the trunk.

 

Reluctantly embroiled in a scheme that also involves Taser-wielding nightclub hostess Zhang Xi (Li Meng), Liu Xiaojun resolves to return Qiqi to her mother while still aiming to alleviate his financial circumstances by arranging to collect the ransom. However, Xia Tu and Xia Xu are the kind of career criminals who don’t give up so easily. Their capacity for death and destruction soon attracts the attention of the police with Detective Wang (Cao Weiyu), the former partner of Liu’s deceased father, heading up the investigation.

 

With the plot being of the overly familiar variety, Vortex is sorely needs a lead protagonist for the audience to root for but Liu is more of a loathsome deadbeat than a relatable everyman. Trying to shift into dramatic roles, Da flounders whether the screenplay calls for a bout of desperation or a burst of ingenuity. He often seems exasperated by the lack of punch lines or sarcastic asides and is crucially unable to pull off his character’s forced redemptive arc. If a dose of acerbic dark humour had been injected into the crime scenario, as in Cock and Bull, this could have been a more suitable opportunity for the performer.

 

Still, Da gets more to work with than most of the cast who are saddled with thankless roles that are secondary to perfunctory twists. An exception is the close-cropped Ou whose stealthy presence and physical dexterity make for a decent, if underwritten, antagonist. His big introduction (demonstrating Parkour-type when pursuing a speeding vehicle, then blasting out the rear windshield with a shotgun) delivers a brief jolt of excitement. Yet subsequent encounters and escapes become repetitive to the point that all sense of menace peters out, even with events barreling forward at the hectic pace now typical of China’s commercial thrillers.

 

Although there are no apparent aspirations to social commentary beyond the broad opinion that feeling downtrodden is no excuse for breaking the law, Vortex has an unrelenting grimness that makes it tough to sit through. Shooting in the southwest metropolis of Chongqing, Gan and cinematographer Cheng Mazhiyuan push for grittiness but just end up with a murky palette that fails to take advantage of the city’s particular features, aside from its cable car system, which is utilized for a money drop sequence. As messy as the film’s smoke-drenched milieu is its soundtrack, a derivative mélange of rock, electronic beats and heartfelt compositions that only serves to make the proceedings more tiresome.

 

Production companies: Black Ant Film Co., Ltd., HeHe Pictures Co., Ltd., Shannan Guangguang Film Industry Co., Ltd., Qiankun Xingyu (Fujian) Cultural Development Co., Ltd., Dongtai Yichi Cultural Media Co., Ltd., Beijing Matt Cultural Development Co., Ltd

 

International sales: Fortissimo Films, info@fortissimofilms.com

 

Producer: Cao Baoping

 

Screenplay: Gan Jianyu, Li Meng, Yi Hui, Jin Jin

 

Production design: Yuan Feng

 

Editing: Kuang Zhiliang

 

Cinematography: Cheng Mazhiyuan

 

Music: Lee Sang Yeol

 

Cast: Da Peng, Ou Hao, Li Meng, Cao Bingkun, Sha Baoliang, Cao Weiyu