Not too bad, better than expected but 10 out of 10 stars (see previous review)? That score implies perfection and this debut feature is far from that exalted state.
First, the pros - there's a coherent attempt stylistically to explore the movie's central concept of consumerist-materialist Singapore society. This works to a greater or lesser degree depending on your reaction or tolerance level of the director's style which may not be to everyone's taste. For me, one of the problems of the movie is that the director's style often works against and diminishes the substance of the story (see more below).
Next, the movie does at least utilise a narrative featuring a non-Chinese Singaporean minority (Tamil-Indian) which is a nice plus as too many Singapore produced films tend to give the impression that we are mono-racial as opposed to multiracial society.
Less impressive is Gone Shopping's episodic multi-narrative structure with three main plot lines - Tai Tai Clara (Kym Ng) and her dissolving marriage and shopping habit; the confused youth Aaron and his foolish infatuation with J-Goth wannabe Hui-Hui aka Harumi; and lost in the mega store Tamil youngster Renu. All three story lines endeavour to explore some aspect of the consumerist society and mindset of Singapore with varying degrees of success. Never really clear how the Aaron/Harumi story ties into the overall shopping/ materialism concept. A shame because there was some good acting between Aaron and Harumi.
The whole transvestite-shoplifting-robbery subplot seems superfluous at best and way too ambiguous. Some of the imagery is rather corny - the transvestite character prancing or dancing through the shop aisles, Clara's soul-sister Tai Tai moment, palms pressed against the doors of the boutique, the sales assistants having their expletive laced gossip about sex. Some incidents were confusing - why was the bald Indian security guard hauled out struggling by the police at the end?
There is too much left unexplored (and unexplained) in the Renu story - the relationship with the first guard (bald guy) is developed then abandoned about 2/3s into the movie when the older senior guard shows up. What exactly is the story with Renu and the transvestite? I liked her character but her story wasn't fully fleshed out and I didn't find the set-up or details really believable. I mean do they really allow young kids to just wander the aisles of major department stores feeding themselves? And for what appears to be days on end?
The pacing of the movie is slow, some of the acting uneven e.g. never felt any authentic chemistry between Pang and Kym that would make their relationship more meaningful and moving in the end. She was too obviously vulnerable from start to finish. I felt her character (and her performance) was flat and two dimensional and it left me feeling no sense of loss for her in the final scenes.
I suspect that too much emphasis has been placed on the visual style & moodiness e.g. music, art direction, cinematography (this may actually be a plus to some) and insufficient rigour applied to the plotting, character, dialogue and structure. The movie lacks a sense of substance, pace and drive, the rhythms are very low key, too much so for my taste but your mileage may vary on this point. I believe it meanders too much.
First, the pros - there's a coherent attempt stylistically to explore the movie's central concept of consumerist-materialist Singapore society. This works to a greater or lesser degree depending on your reaction or tolerance level of the director's style which may not be to everyone's taste. For me, one of the problems of the movie is that the director's style often works against and diminishes the substance of the story (see more below).
Next, the movie does at least utilise a narrative featuring a non-Chinese Singaporean minority (Tamil-Indian) which is a nice plus as too many Singapore produced films tend to give the impression that we are mono-racial as opposed to multiracial society.
Less impressive is Gone Shopping's episodic multi-narrative structure with three main plot lines - Tai Tai Clara (Kym Ng) and her dissolving marriage and shopping habit; the confused youth Aaron and his foolish infatuation with J-Goth wannabe Hui-Hui aka Harumi; and lost in the mega store Tamil youngster Renu. All three story lines endeavour to explore some aspect of the consumerist society and mindset of Singapore with varying degrees of success. Never really clear how the Aaron/Harumi story ties into the overall shopping/ materialism concept. A shame because there was some good acting between Aaron and Harumi.
The whole transvestite-shoplifting-robbery subplot seems superfluous at best and way too ambiguous. Some of the imagery is rather corny - the transvestite character prancing or dancing through the shop aisles, Clara's soul-sister Tai Tai moment, palms pressed against the doors of the boutique, the sales assistants having their expletive laced gossip about sex. Some incidents were confusing - why was the bald Indian security guard hauled out struggling by the police at the end?
There is too much left unexplored (and unexplained) in the Renu story - the relationship with the first guard (bald guy) is developed then abandoned about 2/3s into the movie when the older senior guard shows up. What exactly is the story with Renu and the transvestite? I liked her character but her story wasn't fully fleshed out and I didn't find the set-up or details really believable. I mean do they really allow young kids to just wander the aisles of major department stores feeding themselves? And for what appears to be days on end?
The pacing of the movie is slow, some of the acting uneven e.g. never felt any authentic chemistry between Pang and Kym that would make their relationship more meaningful and moving in the end. She was too obviously vulnerable from start to finish. I felt her character (and her performance) was flat and two dimensional and it left me feeling no sense of loss for her in the final scenes.
I suspect that too much emphasis has been placed on the visual style & moodiness e.g. music, art direction, cinematography (this may actually be a plus to some) and insufficient rigour applied to the plotting, character, dialogue and structure. The movie lacks a sense of substance, pace and drive, the rhythms are very low key, too much so for my taste but your mileage may vary on this point. I believe it meanders too much.
