The Devotion of Suspect X

A cute little movie with some neat plot twists. Interesting insight into China. Wouldn't be surprised to see a Hollywood knockoff in a few years.

Worth a watch.

'The Devotion of Suspect X'' is a film based on the novel of the same name, written by the Japanese Keigo Higashino. The book was a commercial success and it was warmly received from the European and American readers, as it is about an ingenious cat and mouse game between two old classmates where the first one is Tang Chuan, a university professor and police consultant in serious cases, while the second, Shi Hong, is a recluse young man, reserved and timid who prefers to live alone. The plot begins to unfold with the brutal homicide of a man, husband and father of a teenage girl without obvious suspects to begin with. The detectives put on the case suspect the victim's ex wife who nevertheless seems to have a strong alibi for the night of the murder, an alibi confirmed by her neighbor, Shi Hong. Tang Chuan will seize the opportunity to visit his old friend and antagonist, and soon he will grasp the difficulties of the case because of Shi Hong's help and advices to his female neighbor. The plot moves forward in a steady pace and has many twists and turns while the viewer is allowed to absorb the beautiful cinematography of this Chinese film which, has nothing to envy of the big American and European thriller productions. Furthermore, the acting is impeccable and along with the mystery and suspense concerning the murder, the viewer can devour the wonderful dialogue which is embellished with lots of mathematical references. I haven't read the book but the movie motivated me to search for more novels and movie adaptations of Keigo Higashino's work. Fans of quality crime fiction films will certainly not be disappointed with this little gem from China.

Adapted from Keigo Higashino's "The Devotion of Suspect X," the Chinese adaptation of the novel retains most of the text's spirit, whilst streamlining and making minor modifications to certain character story lines. Most dominantly, this film makes a slight shift in emphasis to create a dynamic interplay between Tang Chuan (named Yukawa in the novel, played by actor Wang Kai) and Shi Hong (named Ishigami in the novel, played by Luyi Zhang), the one who solves vs. the one who sets the puzzle.

Two moments in the film that are particularly noteworthy, which also happen to be slight deviations from the novel:

(1) The exchange between Tang Chuan and Shi Hong when they go trekking together, Tang Chuan's empathetic response to Shi Hong's excruciating loneliness is one of the film's best moments, as the subtle undercurrents of all that is left unsaid gnaws at the viewers (and the characters).

(2) Tang Chuan's run on the bridge as he wrestles with the truth is played with perfect subtlety and pathos. Without a single word of dialogue, the pain he experiences as he struggles with the truth and with his next step perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the film, best captured by lines from the novel: "The world needs its cogs, all of them; and even a cog may say how it gets used. In fact, only a cog may determine its eventual meaning in the system."

Another dynamic pair in the film are Tang Chuan and Luo Miao (named Kusanagi in the novel, played by actor Ye Zuxin), whose rapport and amusing exchanges lend a delightful lightness to the weighty subject-matter.

The sprint towards the end is too rushed, which cramps the actors' performances. Certain emotions need to unfold in time on screen, especially when the characters realise particular truths, but there's a clockwork precision in which scenes are distilled that creates certain moments that feel out of sync with characters' emotional expressions. The film presents several problems in terms of pacing and especially in its use of extradiegetic sound--which borders on overbearing at times. A lighter touch in its use of sound, especially when disclosures are revealed, allows the story and the characters to unfold the story more gracefully. The direction and post-production could do with more subtlety, particularly given the film's genre.

There is this saying in Chinese entitled, Ren Suan Bu Ru Tian Suan (Man proposes but God disposes) that came to my mind as soon as I finished watching this movie. Throughout the movie, we see how a man could calculate all he wants and yet there are things or aspects in life that one could not be able to calculate to the dot and in this case especially a person's heart as well as what a person views as valuable/meaningful. I think the story plot was well laid out from beginning, slowly but surely building up to the few possibilities the audience might be able to grasp and catch if they pay enough attention. To me, it would be one of the reason why this movie would worth a rewatching - i.e., to retrace the steps and clues while putting yourself in their shoes. I really like the conversations and interactions between the two main characters, both as genius trying to calculate each other moves. The metaphorical conversations between them were insightful and beautiful for me. In terms of acting, both WangKai and Edward Zhang shine in their respective roles especially Edward in expressing Shi Hong's nonverbals - for someone who appeared emotionless but yet trapped in seas of emotions when fall in too deep in the maze of mind and end goal. I must say though that it did appear somewhat the truth was told in a rush manner - a sudden pick up contrast from the slow laid out from the beginning, which if would have been made more engaging (to match with the tempo set so far between the two MCs) then would be a more digestible solution out of the many solutions up the mountain.

Keigo Higashino is the author of several Japanese Detective novels. This possibly the most famous one. It is a 'Galileo' novel. This is a China adaptation of the book. It is a credible adaptation. I have watched the original Japanese version, and this compares well.