The dead body never chooses the officer, but always chooses the officer.
One more Taiwanese crime drama called The Abandoned has now been released on Netflix. Despite being a narrative that is poorly conceptualized, this film which is shaped like a crime police procedural drama crossed with elements found in horror films works on many levels for people who enjoy foreign crime dramas. Still, there is an unnecessary complicated second act that follows an already well set established first act that weakens the overall dramatic and upbeat resolution of the film.
Migrant workers adjusting to Western life. There’s something quite sombre about a bright but solitary car as the viewer is informed about Wu Jie’s latest life on the car park. It’s almost as if, by merely looking at that particular shot, or Janine Chun-Ning Chan’s performances, we know the idea is foreboding. Martinez places her revolver against her chin, and the notion of action as a last resort is taken away when a woman aggressively knocks on her window and tells her that there is a dead body.
What could have led Detective Wu Jie to the brink of suicide? It turns out she was equally heartbroken over her fiancé who ended up killing himself. In fact, this is the self-inflicted gunshot wound her fiancé had on the roof of the car. Wu Jie is one of the characters that many of us have encountered while watching cop dramas, however it is encouraging to witness a woman who exhibits the same PTSD issues, this time around.
The first 20 minutes of the movie are very well crafted and edited to the detail such that the viewer believes they are about to witness a crime drama with well depicted native elements of Asian horror. But it never resonates in its fullest form. Each and every scene has been written and captured like a suspenseful scene awaiting some shocking twist. Yet that has not happened so far and the film explains the circumstances Wu Jie attempted to shoot herself in the first place.
There is absolutely nothing to complain about regarding any of the performances in The Abandoned. The entire cast and even the revelation of the killer is not experienced as lazy at all. For instance, in regards to Janine Chun, her performance appears ideal for someone who is portrayed as a trauma survivor.
Ethan Juan plays Lin You Shang, one of the important characters in the movie, who will definitely keep you entertained as the proceedings go on. Not everyone can be the ‘good’ guy, but does that make him the antagonist of this entire situation? That is the question that the viewers are left with.
Taiwanese woman, Wu Jie is thoroughly engaged in her life as the case requires that they delve into the world of people who are most affected. Evolving from focusing on her loss, she has to focus with her inept yet jovial partner to hunt down the perpetrator. It’s not very surprising at all once we realize how so close we were all along to finding the one behind the monstrous deeds done to first several and then countless women.
On the downside, The Abandoned ceases to exist and function in the latter half, whereby details are too much and poorly conveyed in the mystery of ‘who is the killer’. So, hence, when the expectation arrives, you sort of wonder whether the audience were meant to feel it’s shocking. It’s a pretty good film complex full of tension that leaves everyone satisfied at the end of it with there being many surprises but not one storyline lies whiplash style simply just adding to the hype for the final scene which is equal to zero satisfaction.
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