 
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A review: The Red Kebayaopens 23rd November Sandra Sodhy, the film's PR and publicist had texted me over the weekend, reminding me about the press preview. So, I got into the office today and with head's up from writer to enjoy myself at the movie and try to get hold of the other two cast namely, Paula Malai Ali and Elaine Daly - only then I made a move to GSC Midvalley this morning. Walking towards the press registration did I notice something else - another registration table for bloggers, guest and etc. My guess was this hot babe would be there too as well. Not only her, TV Smith, Sultan Muzaffar, Jennifur and Sharizal were there as well. And Suan introduced me to Patrick Teoh who's in the movie too. Phew. Back to the movie. I don't know about you, but at one glance, the poster gives you the creepy kinda vibe so many have passed the movie as a horror. And I've spoken to Sandra who said it was more of a psychological-kinda thriller.  The colour red can indicate the element of passion but here, to me it invoked a feeling of the character Azizah who is erm, a ghost. Blame it on the Chinese belief of people who are murdered whilst dressed in red, their souls come back with a vengeance. What's the movie about: Latiff is played by Ramli Hassan, whose bald head can rival Mr. Kojak's. He's a lonely photographer who has been orphaned but grew up to be successful by selling his photographs and even drives a Volvo. Photographer-wannabes out there, you still have hope. His latest assignment revolves around abandoned buildings, so he travels up to Penang. Whilst doing the whole tourist-sy thing of sight-seeing in a trishaw, he caught sight of a red kebaya at a shop's window display. So, he walked into Patrick Teoh's antique shop. There, the owner tells him he needs his eyes checked because they don't sell clothes but a picture of an old home intrigues him. He then travels up to Penang Hill in search of the house in the photo frame. Now, here's the "scary" bits. In the abandoned house, he's able to see visions. And those visions revolve around a Matsalleh couple, the Reynolds and their lives. The thumbs-up part: The main cast ensemble were just right and they fit their roles like gloves. I especially felt Bob Mercer's portrayal of John Reynolds, the lonely yet cowardly husband who couldn't stand up to his fierce wife. Hoggy which was played by Zahim Al Bakri was entertaining but his character could've been developed more. Elaine Daly who played Hoggy's erm, slut was pretty convincing - I would've been certain she was in fact from the '50s with that slang. The err part: Soppy love story was a bit too much, in fact crying while professing love was corny, to me. Then, Mr. Latiff photographer shouldn't have revealed, "I am _____" a tad too fast in the middle of the story, making it more predictable. Suanie agreed the story was a bit underdeveloped and it was a simple story to boot. I thought the pace was a bit slow in the middle. Was it just me or that there was a slight tech error with GSC's sound system? AND which smart alec journalist had his handphone rang...TWICE during the show deserved to be thrown out of the hall. Okay, that was unrelated. Verdict: I left the cinema feeling more err on my side. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what happened to Mrs. Reynolds. And how come Latiff couldn't remember his past until now? And why is that he is able to communicate with the small boy by telling him FC16 is the right setting for the camera? Loopholes, loopholes. Nevertheless, it was a good effort from our fellow Malaysians and it does invoke the 50s era with the whole British home setting and communist playback. But I was hoping more could have been done. I'd give it 3 stars out of 5. At least I would say, it's a decent film coming from our land compared to the slapstick Scenarios and many more.  press conference  me, Suanie |
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