両親との間にわだかまりを抱えていた青年ヘンリー・チョンは、友人アンガス・トンと共謀し両親を殺害。その遺体を切断して遺棄した。やがて2人は逮捕され、犯行は決定的と思われたが、裁判が始まるとアンガスは殺害を否認。ヘンリーが両親を殺し、自分は脅されて遺体を解体したと供述する。一方、ヘンリーはアンガスと2人で殺害したと主張し、アンガスの証言は正反対だった。すべてが揺らぎ始め、迷宮の中に入り込んだような裁判で、弁護人と検察官の攻防が続き、陪審員たちの倫理観や感情も揺れ惑うが、やがて判決の時を迎える。
監督: 何爵天
脚本: Thomas Leung Wing-ho / 谭广源 / 葉偉平
撮影監督: 梁祐暢
制作会社: Mei Ah Entertainment / Word By Word Limited / Fiece Urchin Production Limited
Based on a rather shocking true story from Hong Kong, this is quite an intriguing depiction of the arrest and trial of Henry Chung (Yeung Wai Lun) for the brutal murder and dismemberment of his parents. He is pretty up-front about his guilt and the trial seems a bit of a fait-accompli. The gist of the film, though, centres on the involvement of his accomplice Angus Tong (Man Pui-tung). Now here is a character that has the IQ of a teabag, is overweight and generally comes across as infantile and incapable of taking responsibility for himself. Was he involved at all, and if so - in what capacity? That capacity issue is what makes this courtroom drama stand out. The performance from Man Pui-tung is superb. The depiction (illustrated via flashback) of his rather psychologically brutal interrogation; his constant incoherent mumbling and bumbling; the conflicting medical and psychological reports of his competencies - and all under the gaze of a jury made up of nine ordinary citizens with the prejudices and priorities of nine normal folks is well worked by Cheuk Tin Ho to create a genuine sense of our involvement in the future of this young man. Was he guilty or not? What might I have decided based on the evidence? Is there even any real evidence against him or is he just an easy target for the pursuing constabulary? It is too long, and takes a while to build up steam, but once it gets going it is an interesting character study - not just of the two accused, but of the jury, the police and of the judicial system that provides the framework for this maelstrom of advice, expertise, procedure and the genuine evil emanating from the effective Yeung Wai-lun. The imagery, especially amidst the wig-wearing scenario of the only recently reintegrated Chinese courtroom where the judge is still referred to as "my Lord" is suitably anachronistic too, and invites us to make or own assessments of the people and the process in quite a sophisticated fashion. There is a great deal of dialogue which is difficult for the subtitlers to do justice to, but it is photographed in an intimate and intense fashion and is thought-provoking to watch.
