Tian liang zhi qian

We've seen films like this already: Before Sunrise, Adrift in Tokyo... they're almost their own genre; we also know that everything hinges on how we come to feel about the characters upon having strolled around town with them for an hour and half. So then, shall we...?

Having serious gambling debts with the kind of scum who can never be paid back, Aaron Kwok's Gao Ye is desperate...then, Momo, a whimsical prostitute walks into his room, played by the adorable Zishin Yang. Apparently determined to spend time with him, Gao seeks to exploit her bizarre neediness to win what he owes, quickly getting her caught up in his mess.

As we follow Gao and Momo through a (nameless?) city at night, we're treated to excellent photography which - strange for the genre - doesn't really utilise its setting. We're also spared the preaching of how gambling is bad, yet at the same time, Gao Ye never seems to learn from his mistakes, making him a bit frustrating to watch. Their exploits and/or conversations never really managed to draw me in, while the warmth we're supposed to feel for their characters is almost devoid, instead being saved as a final punch to the gut, moments from the end.

And that's where One Night Only fails: it just doesn't draw the viewer in enough, so that when the final credits roll, we're left thinking a flat, "Oh..." rather than genuinely feeling the emotions the film tries to leave us with.