Man in Love Movie Review
Man in Love is a Taiwanese remake of the 2014 Korean film of the same name, and it does nothing to expand on its predecessor. The film has a pleasant Lady and the Tramp vibe, but the film’s occasional jumping of genres and painfully overlong running time delay its more emotionally charged moments.
In its simplest form, Man in Love is just that – about a man in love. Our hero here is a low-life gangster named A-Cheng. He works as a debt collector, but quickly develops a soft spot for one of his debtors. Rather, their daughter.
When he looks at Hao Ting, it’s love at first sight, and so their romance begins.
As expected, it’s not a straight forward progression and the film certainly takes its time in building trust and affection between the two characters. There are a lot of guarded emotions here, which makes it hard to warm to Hao Ting at times. It also doesn’t help that the pair can’t seem to pull off much chemistry together. Compared to Tae-Il and Ho-Jung in the 2014 film, this pairing lacks the same spark.
Movie Tone
The biggest problem with this movie is its tone. Man in Love is confused about whether he wants to play it all as a light romance or a tragic melodrama. One such example of this awkwardness comes at a crucial moment for Hao Ting and A Cheng to confess their feelings for each other.
With this scene, the couple lies down together. A Cheng discusses the nature of marriage and wants to honor Ha-Ting’s Father by getting married on their anniversary. As Hao Ting confesses his love… A Cheng farts. It’s such a weird and jarring segment that it takes you completely out of the moment and ruins a really touching moment.
These small samples appear throughout the film and there are some scenes that go on for a very long time. This movie could very easily cut around 20 minutes of running time and be all the stronger for it. There’s a lot going on in the second act, and the time jump — while important — doubles down on character exposition to fill us in on the gaps.
Unfortunately, it actually feels like the movie is coming to an end. There is only 40 minutes of working time left.
Great Moments
Don’t get me wrong, Man in Love actually has some great moments. Like the 2014 version, the final act packs quite an emotional punch. You’ll be hard-pressed not to empathize with our heroes, and these flashes of brilliance are the best parts of the film.
Man in Love is not a bad movie, but it is not a great movie either. It doesn’t expand on the 2014 film of the same name, and its pairing here feels like a poor imitation of the Korean version. There are some good emotional moments, but like its main character, it’s a little rough around the edges.