I've always had kind of a love hate relationship with Chinese historical BLs. Some are genuinely excellent, but then there are others that cram in so much plot that keeping track of all the layers of betrayal and scheming gets exhausting, and I end up checking out mentally. Part of the issue is also just how much content is out there in this space, so something really has to stand out to keep me hooked. In this case, the production value is genuinely impressive, top tier stuff, but story wise, I just couldn't bring myself to actually care about these characters. There's a ton of political scheming and backstage manipulation running throughout. Somewhere in the middle of all that chaos, a hostage ends up falling for his own Prince Charming. The show runs eight episodes, each around 50 to 60 minutes long. After spending three years guarding the border, Fifth Prince Yin Qi gets called back to the capital because of a secret letter, only to end up walking straight into a deadly...
This film was disturbing and edgy at the same time. Made probably on a very very small budget (you can tell after watching the film), it does take some unexpected turns but a little simpler plot would have kept this film much more enjoyable. It started out slow and felt it could be one of those low budget really bad films, but the end result was not that bad.
Corin, a thirty year old professional, and his younger, party-loving boyfriend Jake have been together for a while but they are having their share of problems. While Corin has settled down and likes to spend quiet evenings at home, Jake still loves the "bar" scene, and often views his relationship with Corin as holding him back from enjoying his youth. At work, Corin is able to confide in his boss and good friend Nancy who is the only one who understands him. Due to workload increase, Nancy decides to hire an assistant for Corin. At first, Elliot is awkward and somewhat nerdy, but likable nonetheless. Corin learns that Elliot lives with his over-protective mother and is engaged to be married to long-time girlfriend, Marti. Corin begins spending some time outside of work with Elliot, inviting him home and to various outings. Before long, Elliot begins to develop feelings for Corin and realizes that he is a homosexual. This causes severe mixed emotions in him; his mother is deeply against this lifestyle because her husband left her years earlier for another man. With no real support for his new feelings, Elliot's feelings for Corin begin to become a dangerous and disturbing obsession, resulting in a dark, depressing climax which ultimately brings Jake and Corin back together.
The real drama in the film happens only towards the end. Till then we just witness the increasing obsession that Elliot has for Corin and how it develops over a period of time. His behavior gets more and more disturbing. You can see there is some psychic history behind it. Not to justify his actions to kidnap Corin, torture him but all he wants is to be loved and accepted. Whats wrong is that he wants to be loved by someone who is already in a relationship. From acting point of view, its a mixed bag. Sometime they are good and other times, they are outright bad to the extent that the film suddenly starts looking extremely fake.
A wanna be suspenseful film. It will be hard to keep your attention but give it a try. Its not great but not outrightly bad either. (4/10)
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