This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat. The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
Lin lives as a tenant who is looking after an old landlady suffering from late-stage diabetes and her nine-year-old grandson Yo-yu. He is regarded as a kind man by everyone including the music school where he teaches piano. But, when the old grandam dies under mysterious circumstances, things start to go downhill. Yo-yu’s uncle, Wang Li-gang, is shocked to find out that the ownership of his mother’s apartment has been transferred to Yo-yu, who has since been legally adopted by Lin. The uncle suspects. That Lin may have murdered his mother for the apartment and files a complaint. To make matters worse, drug is found in grandma's body, which it turns out was bought by Lin from another man on a gay hook-up app. Through flashbacks it is revealed that Lin was the gay partner of You-yo's father who died 5 years ago and the son is form his ex-wife. He has since been taking care of grandma and Yo-yu, despite the young boy not understanding the relationship between Lin and his father. The truth behind the mystery death is eventually revealed, Lin gets released from jail but the custody of the child then goes to the uncle.
The acting by everyone in this film is amazing, especially the kid. The loneliness, the fear, the confusions around him is portrayed by so well. We see multiple situations where Lin faces homophobic discrimination even during the investigation by the police. The uncle is made to be the villain, but he is also not sure what really is going on and just wants the truth to come out. The background information is revealed to us in many layers like onion, one step at a time. We understand how Lin's lover dies, and that his lingering love and regret toward his lost love is apparent and easily understandable. The story on the relationship of Lin and his partner seemed a bit dramatic when the reveal is done of his death, but I don't mind it. The homosexuality is not overstated or intentionally highlighted, its more just a matter of fact, an essential part of the tale Cheng is trying to tell; which I thought was wonderful. Despite all the goodness, the film is not an easy watch. It is excruciatingly slow and really tests your patience. Thankfully all the emotions are subtle without any overacting or drama but some sections go on for what seems like forever while the results are already painfully obvious.
The story is great, acting is superb, but the film can use some very tight editing and a faster pace to keep audience's hooked. I would definitely recommend this as a good piece of cinema but beware that it is slow. (7/10)
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