Deadly Delicious (2008) Movie Review

Although “Deadly Delicious” opens with the same quote from Confucius that provided Ang Lee’s “Eat Man Drink Woman” with its title, the two films present very different depictions of modern relationships and of the battle between the sexes. Certainly, the film from first time writer director Zhao Tianyu is a much darker and more cynical affair, dealing with infidelity, obsession and murderous revenge. The film was produced by Zhang Yi Bai, whose “Curiosity Killed the Cat” was arguably one of the best modern suspense thrillers to have come from Mainland China in some time, and it serves up a similar line in contemporary thrills thanks to a clever script which keeps viewers guessing right through to the surprising conclusion – at least those who don’t read the back of the DVD, which rather unfortunately gives away most of the plot’s carefully constructed surprises.

The film follows a young air hostess called Coco (newcomer Jiang Yiyan), who is having trouble hanging onto her wandering boyfriend Jiaqiao (Hong Kong actor Francis Ng, recently in “Shamo”), a man prone to sudden changes of mood and disappearances. One day Coco meets ex-television chef Gu Xiaofan (Yu Nan, who headlined the excellent “Tuya’s Marriage”), who promises to help, convincing her that the best way to a man’s heart is through is stomach. Soon enough, the two women are cooking up a storm, keeping Jiaqiao happy with dish after delicious dish, which not only satisfies his stomach but which also gives his libido a much needed boost. All seems to be going well, until Jiaqiao starts to lose his hair and feel tired all the time, leading Coco to suspect that Gu Xiaofan’s motivations may be far from innocent.

“Deadly Delicious” is a devious slice of Hitchcock style suspense and character reversal, and director Zhao does a great job of lulling the viewer into a false sense of security along with poor Jiaqiao, only to mercilessly notch up the tension. The plot does feature several big twists and sudden shocks, though these are worked in skfillfully, and the film is a very intelligent affair, playing with the viewer instead of spoon feeding answers. Offsetting this to an extent is a certain amount of dark humour, though this if anything only serves to make the later plot developments even more fiendish. The film deals with some fairly bleak themes, giving a nihilistic take on modern morality and relationships, and Zhao thankfully does not compromise by throwing in a wholly undeserved happy ending. As such it does not exactly make for cheerful viewing, though it is at least mean spirited in the best possible and most entertaining way.

The cast all turn in good performances and the characters are interesting, if not exactly likeable, and Zhao’s non-judgemental approach allows the film to explore some fairly complex moral territory. Indeed, even once all of the cards are on the table there are no clear villains, and whilst this does make the proceedings a little emotionally distant, the film certainly benefits from the level of psychological depth that this brings. Through this, and given the subject matter, the film is somewhat reminiscent of Pang Ho Cheung’s superb “Exodus”, though it is perhaps somewhat less abstract.

Zhao’s direction is excellent, and he keeps the film moving along at a slick pace, never giving the viewer chance to catch breath. Visually the film is a surprisingly impressive affair, making the most of the modern cityscape with some gorgeous urban vistas and with some effective use of the indoor sets. Food obviously plays an important part of the proceedings, and Zhao piles on the shots of mouth watering dishes, though of course as the film goes progresses these take on a much more sinister and symbolic meaning.

Although the Chinese film industry does not really produce much in the way of genre cinema, it has of late been churning out a number of effective suspense thrillers, and “Deadly Delicious” is arguably one of the best of this recent trend. Immaculately plotted and darkly entertaining, it works both as an exercise in tension and as an intellectually stimulating take on life, love and revenge.

Zhao Tianyu (director) / Yao Wang, Zhao Tianyu (screenplay)
CAST: Francis Ng … Chen Jiaoqiao
Nan Yu … Li Chunyan
Yiyan Jiang … Coco
Yuchen Zhu … Luo Yi
Jiaqing Wei … Zhang Qing