Don't Go Breaking My Heart: Film Review

HONG KONG -- A love story that plays out extensively via window panes and cell phone videos, Johnnie To's first romantic drama since Linger (2008) may conceal a dark and neurotic subtext about the existential distances between urban men and women behind its gleaming, crowd-pleasing surfaces. For the most part though, Don't Go Breaking My Heart's Cinderella tale about an ordinary girl caught between two adamant admirers is VIP-class escapism. Like a magician (a motif signifying the film's ongoing male rivalry), To dazzles with non-stop filmmaking tricks, so many will be happy to forget the disingenuousness of the creative premise, especially the kind of romance it manufactures.
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Except for collectivists, few overseas disciples of To's cool action films would go the extra mile to see this very different product, aimed squarely at mainland audiences with a bit of Asian-region circulation as bonus. There'll be more activity in Asian-centric ancillary.