LEE ROCK: Part I and II
(雷洛傳)
This
is definitely one of my favourite Andy Lau movies. And it’s hard to imagine that this movie was made in 1991, just
at the brink of Andy’s breakout as a megastar.
I had little expectations for this rather bland storyline, as I thought
it would be from reading the VCD cover.
But lo and behold, what a diamond in the rough. Of course, not to take anything away from
the movie. The main theme of Lee
Rock questions how one can remain
honest in a fundamentally fraudulent system? That's the question raised this
critically acclaimed 1991 docudrama that details the meteoric rise of its title
character from humble beat cop to mega-powerful chief of police. In an
HKFA-nominated performance, Andy Lau stars as Lee Rock, a barely literate
street urchin who snags a job as a policeman for one simple reason: to put food
on the table. At the academy, he learns there's more to being a police officer
than he first realized. In a private talk with Lee's graduating class, a
respected instructor offers his students a final piece of advice: the point of
the game isn't to protect and serve, but to move your way up the chain of
command. Sadly, this feat requires a lot of shady behavior, including both the
giving and receiving of bribes. Not to participate in such actions, as the
instructor warns, “is to condemn yourself to a pauper's grave.”
At
least initially, Lee Rock sticks to his ideals and declines every kickback that
comes his way. And while his refusal to take bribes earns him the contempt of
his fellow officers, it also garners him the respect and loyalty of Lardo (Ng
Man-Tat), a street hawker who soon becomes Lee's trusted confidante. We also
meet Rose (Chingmy Yau), the pinnacle of wide-eyed, pigtailed innocence, who
loves Lee deeply, but has to keep it a secret from her authoritarian father
(Wong Yat-Fei). When her dad learns of the relationship with Lee, he's less
than thrilled with the fact that Rose's boyfriend is a policeman. While Rose's
father despises cops for their corruption, he actually considers Lee to be even
worse since all the honesty in the world won't put a roof over his daughter's
head. Rose's father forbids a marriage, and soon enough, Rose is sent packing
to a faraway place. A heartbroken Lee uses his police connections to search for
her, but alas, has no luck in finding his lost love.
Eventually,
the kindly—and only marginally corrupt—Sgt. Chan (Kwan Hoi-San) takes Lee under
his protective wing, telling his young pupil, "All great men started
small." Taking Chan's advice to heart, Lee vows to rise up the ranks of
the department to become chief of police. The only obstacle in his way is Sgt.
Ngan Tong (Paul Chun Pui), a morally bankrupt police thug who stops at nothing
to destroy Lee's career.
Just
as Lee's job prospects begin to improve, things heat up in the romance
department when he meets a stunningly beautiful and luscious woman by the name
of Grace (played Cheung Man). The spoiled daughter of a big-time gangster,
Grace provides a romantic entanglement for Lee that is virtually the polar
opposite of his situation with Rose. Even so, the issue of money arises with
Grace's father as well, but thankfully, this time Lee passes the test.
Marriage, promotions, political maneuverings, riots, a hostage situation, and a
surprise cliffhanger ending are just a sample of the events that unfold in this
thoroughly satisfying motion picture.
Proving
worthy of his Best Actor nomination, Andy Lau excels in the role of Lee Rock,
playing him as the idealistic country bumpkin in the early portions of the
film, yet modifying his portrayal ever so minutely as the character develops
over time. Somehow, Lau is able to control his smarminess level, letting it
slowly leak to the surface in tandem with Lee Rock's ascension to power.
Similarly, the performances of Lau's fellow cast members are equally strong
with too many fine turns to single out in the space of a single review.
Like
life, Lee Rock unfolds in a series of random events, and it's this
seeming absence of a clichéd formula that adds to the illusion of realism. Peeling off the layers of romance and the
drama, it's the ethical quandaries that Lee faces that provide the backbone of
the film. It's a Catch-22: you can't clean up the streets as simple beat cop,
but you can't move up the ladder unless you get your hands dirty.
Unfortunately, it's only by taking kickbacks that Lee Rock is able to get ahead
in the world. And consequently, the reachable goal here is not to become a
force of good, but instead to be the lesser of two evils. It's the only way
that Lee Rock can make some effective changes within a system that runs on
corruption. Whether he ultimately becomes the solution or just another part of
the problem is seen in the sequel Lee Rock II.
It’s
interesting to see that exactly 12 years later, Andy Lau would return in a
movie with a very familiar theme in Infernal Affairs. One can almost see Lee Rock as a
sort of prelude. What I loved about Lee
Rock was the careful attention to historical detail. The narration leaves nothing to spare as it
outlines the social conditions of the colony as it slowly grew from a backyard
slum to an urban cosmopolitan. You’ll
find it fascinating how the film painstakingly portray the plights of the of
the mainly emigrant population in the colony, particularly the horrendous
corruption they had to endure at the hands of the police leading up to the
creation of the Anti-Corruption unit in 1972.
Hence, Lee Rock is as much a historical feature as it is a
fictitional flick.
Moreover,
Lee Rock II should not be viewed as a separate movie. Rather, it should be seen as an “complement”
to the prequel, for it really tries to stretch out the backend of Lee’s
career. Although a bit long-winded at
times, it is nonetheless a remarkably entertaining piece of the picture of Lee
Rock. The most outstanding aspect of Lee
Rock II is the character played by Aaron Kwok. Another star-to-be, Kwok displays an amazing flash of vigour and
stubborness which suits being the son of Lee Rock perfectly. As Lee remarks when he first meets Kwok,
“You do remind me of me when I was young” even though Lee is totally unaware
that he was talking to his long-lost son.
All in all, this is a supremely well-made film. All the more so since Lee Rock is based on a
true story.