Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is one of those films which feel like it would have worked better in a theatre setting, especially given the copious amount of dialogue involved. Fortunately, the cast of Kill Mobile <来电狂响> manages to deliver nuanced performances despite their lengthy monologues – even though their characters can be terribly grating at times.
Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is a drama about seven old friends who decide to bare all the contents of their mobile phones during one fateful dinner. All calls and messages received during that dinner are shown to all members of the dinner – but this results in terrible consequences, given that there are three couples at the dinner. After this momentous meal, they find that despite their apparent “closeness'”, they’re really more like strangers to each other.
The huge problem with Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is that half of the characters are terribly dislikeable. This is probably due in part to how the characters were written, and reflects the incredible skill with which the talents played their assigned roles. But when you end up detesting half of the characters in the film, you root against them – which means that you actually delight in seeing them get into the awkward situations they do. As a result, some of the tension is lost, since you’re not afraid of what happens to half of them, and neither are you invested in the welfare of half of the characters. In particular, Jia Di (Tong Dawei), Wen Bo (Tian Yu), Wu Xiao Jiang (Qiao Shan), and Li Nan (Huo Siyan) are the prime offenders in the drama.
As a result of the dislikeability of the main cast, what is supposed to be intense drama comes off as overblown theatrics. You can’t help rolling your eyes at how they behave, because you just want them to shut up, sit down and let the other, more pleasant characters take the centre stage. Nevertheless, the drama is real in Kill Mobile <来电狂响> – you can cut the tension with a knife. This is thanks to the stakes raised by the likeable cast members. whom you genuinely hope will cut ties with the bunch of douchebags they happen to have made friends with.
The biggest artistic constraint for Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is that there’s really only one location to play with – and it’s not a very interesting one. It takes place in the living room of an upscale apartment, which provides very few opportunities for interesting camera angles. You can see the director struggling to make do with the location he has, as he switches shots just for the sake of variety. None of the camerawork is particularly inspired, but there’s very little that can be done about that. After all, there are only so many angles that you can shoot a dining room scene, right? As a result, it’s mostly a set of talking heads, and the movie rests heavily upon the performance of the cast.
The “mobile phones are evil” message is also laid on a bit too thick, with on the nose narration at the beginning, blatantly blunt dialogue about the evils of mobile technology for the cast, and the entire premise of the film. Understandably, it is the raison d’etre of the film. However, it could have been done a little more subtly.
The plot is strong though. Despite you not caring about the characters as much as you should, you suddenly feel pangs of dread and pain when the climax rolls around. The reveals come in fast and furious, leaving you no space to breathe. And all those characters that you previously disliked? You suddenly feel sorry for them, and this is where the movie shines. It takes the most motley bunch of inane characters, and puts them in such compromising situations that you can’t help but feel pity for them.
Despite all its foibles, Kill Mobile <来电狂响> does manage to deliver a thrilling drama about the fault lines that sometimes develop among old and close friends. It might have been better executed as a play, but it’s still worth a watch as a film. Don’t expect amazing visuals – but be prepared for clever twists and appalling revelations. If it had a likeable cast, Kill Mobile <来电狂响> would have excelled in its genre.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? If you like theatre.
Score: 3.4/5
Secret ending? Yes, and the credits have some on the nose messages too.
Running time: 103 minutes (~1.75 hours)
Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is a Mandarin drama that’s a remake of the 2016 Italian comedy-drama Perfect Strangers. It is also known as 手机狂响.
The film revolves around a group of seven old friends who decide to have a silly dare. They will reveal all phone calls and messages that they receive during a dinner. This, however, has the unfortunate repercussion of driving rifts among all of them. Will their friendship ever be the same again?
Kill Mobile <来电狂响> is directed by Yu Miao and written by Xiao Li, Huan Wang and Si Wang. It stars Tong Dawei (Jia Di), Ma Li (Han Xiao), Huo Siyan (Li Nan), Qiao Shan (Wu Xiaoqiang), Tian Yu (Wen Bo), Dai Lele (Dai Dai), and Xi Ming (Bai Xuejiao). It is rated PG-13.
Kill Mobile <来电狂响> opens in cinemas:
– 10 January, 2019 (Singapore)
This is an original article on marcusgohmarcusgoh.com
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I’m an independent scriptwriter who’s written for popular shows like Lion Mums, Crimewatch, Police & Thief, and Incredible Tales. I’m also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. You can find me on social media as Optimarcus and on my site.
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