MollySF
Like fine wine, it steals into your veins, slowly,
Like fine wine Crush steals lowly and stealthily into your veins till you dont even realise you are drunk...At the end of Episode 24, I watched Evan Lin and Wan Peng walk into the sunset, with a feeling of regret, that the story was over.
Does that mean this was a great watch-- Not all throughout. Parts of it were really random-- you didnt know where they were running with the story and felt frustrated. But the good parts were so beautiful that the bad parts can be forgiven.
Like a lot of reviewers said it didnt feel like a C-drama ( which itself is a great compliment). This could be called a drama of characters not of situations.. The characters themselves were so multi-layered, with their back stories never fully revealed, that they provided the thrill and drama. The psychological explanation presented by FL and her friend was very deep and though provoking. Kudos to the writers. One can see they were inspired by the best of American cinema-- the homage to the classics like Silver Lining playbook, A beautiful mind, Sleepless in Seattle were quite interesting. These are much loved classics and as an American I feel proud that these works have inspired others. But there is a catch in such direct inspiration from universally loved movies like Nash's biography or Silver Lining Playbook-- the contrast between the maturity, depth and honesty of those works with the show become immediately apparent. Therefore it kind of leaves a funny after-taste
The two outstanding elements are the music and the acting. The music was modern and lyrical. Absolutely first rate even for a non Chinese viewer. Great replay value for the music especially the ballads sung by Evan Lin.
Acting of everyone was very good but special mention of Evan Lin for a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of a slightly autistic legally blind man with a burdened soul. Wan Peng was good but not brilliant. I may be forgiven for saying that the gamine charm of Wan Peng in school/ college student roles does not translate to mature roles.... Her dialogue delivery was slightly bland and expressionless, voice modulation very lacking, and her styling was AWFUL. Her hair was so badly styled and she was wearing clothes 3 sizes larger than her petite frame. Okay we realise she was playing an 'au naturelle' girl, but she doesnt have to dress up like an academic in her late 60s dressed in comfortable over-large tweed coats brought from a yard sale . Give the girl a break!
In contrast Evan Lin was dressed beautifully, sharp suits and nicely fitted shirts. And as they repeated a million times, he really does have pretty eyes.
One thing that distressed me how they made Wan Peng parrot how her character wasnt good enough for Evan Lin's character. Smart people dont look at looks only but at the whole package and the ML got a great deal of love and acceptance fromthe FL at a time when he didnt have anyone by his side.... Somehow reiterating how her looks didnt match up to his -- robbed the drama of the kind of liberal values it started off with.
Does that mean this was a great watch-- Not all throughout. Parts of it were really random-- you didnt know where they were running with the story and felt frustrated. But the good parts were so beautiful that the bad parts can be forgiven.
Like a lot of reviewers said it didnt feel like a C-drama ( which itself is a great compliment). This could be called a drama of characters not of situations.. The characters themselves were so multi-layered, with their back stories never fully revealed, that they provided the thrill and drama. The psychological explanation presented by FL and her friend was very deep and though provoking. Kudos to the writers. One can see they were inspired by the best of American cinema-- the homage to the classics like Silver Lining playbook, A beautiful mind, Sleepless in Seattle were quite interesting. These are much loved classics and as an American I feel proud that these works have inspired others. But there is a catch in such direct inspiration from universally loved movies like Nash's biography or Silver Lining Playbook-- the contrast between the maturity, depth and honesty of those works with the show become immediately apparent. Therefore it kind of leaves a funny after-taste
The two outstanding elements are the music and the acting. The music was modern and lyrical. Absolutely first rate even for a non Chinese viewer. Great replay value for the music especially the ballads sung by Evan Lin.
Acting of everyone was very good but special mention of Evan Lin for a wonderfully nuanced portrayal of a slightly autistic legally blind man with a burdened soul. Wan Peng was good but not brilliant. I may be forgiven for saying that the gamine charm of Wan Peng in school/ college student roles does not translate to mature roles.... Her dialogue delivery was slightly bland and expressionless, voice modulation very lacking, and her styling was AWFUL. Her hair was so badly styled and she was wearing clothes 3 sizes larger than her petite frame. Okay we realise she was playing an 'au naturelle' girl, but she doesnt have to dress up like an academic in her late 60s dressed in comfortable over-large tweed coats brought from a yard sale . Give the girl a break!
In contrast Evan Lin was dressed beautifully, sharp suits and nicely fitted shirts. And as they repeated a million times, he really does have pretty eyes.
One thing that distressed me how they made Wan Peng parrot how her character wasnt good enough for Evan Lin's character. Smart people dont look at looks only but at the whole package and the ML got a great deal of love and acceptance fromthe FL at a time when he didnt have anyone by his side.... Somehow reiterating how her looks didnt match up to his -- robbed the drama of the kind of liberal values it started off with.
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