At this point he turns into a nervous wreck when the characters in his mind start talking back.
Portrayed in the manner of a cool and calm film noir-style detective attempting to solve a fascinating puzzle from long ago, the Writer does little more than dispense basic information until the film is almost over.
Repetitive, mechanical shots of the Writer at his desk and close-ups of his typewriter keys thudding away do little to create mystery or generate tension. Instead of picking up the pace and adding layers of intrigue once primary story elements and murder suspects have been introduced, Peng’s screenplay slows down markedly and fails to delve deeply into the minds and possible motives of its characters. New to the household is junior domestic helper Bao Cui (Chen Yixin), an innocent 18-year-old from the sticks who suffers from epilepsy. Listening at the bedroom door and peeping through keyholes is Bi Xia (Chang Tsu-lei), long-serving maid to Ku Yang and also bedding the lustful medico. The silver-tongued lothario reads passages from “Madame Bovary” and injects Ku Yang with amphetamines during their steamy afternoon trysts. Married to Old Master (Tay Ping Hui), a moneybags who lives elsewhere and wants Ku Yang solely for the purpose of producing an heir, the lonely lady spends her days waiting for house calls from hunky Dr. The lavishly appointed dwelling is more like a tomb for Ku Yang (Taiwanese model Nanyeli, debuting), a depressed former movie starlet from a humble background in China. Most of the action takes place in a fabulous midcentury-modern mansion on Wilkinson Road in Singapore’s upscale Katong neighborhood. In a very strange and disorienting move the Writer types his tale in English while his voice-over narration is in Mandarin.Įarly sequences lay what appears to be fertile ground for an engaging tale of lust, jealousy and murder. Tan, the Writer begins bashing out a novel based on known facts of the case and his speculations on what may have triggered the tragedy. Intrigued by his uncanny resemblance to Dr. The film’s framing device involves a contemporary writer (Chuando Tan) discovering old newspaper stories about the violent deaths of wealthy woman Ku Yang and attractive physician Dr. The first narrative feature by renowned commercials director Wayne Peng played local cinemas in April and has been selected as Singapore’s official entry in the 2022 international feature Oscar race. Promising ingredients for a juicy murder mystery are spoiled by weak plotting and anemic drama in “ Precious Is the Night.” Set among Singapore’s wealthy elite and their household servants in 1969, this plodding tale about a randy doctor involved with an unhappily married socialite and her two housemaids is impeccably decorated and handsomely photographed but fails to produce much tension or intrigue.
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