A sensitive and sincere portrayal of a modern woman’s struggle with her sexuality.
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Hong Kong director Jessey Tsang’s ‘The Lady Improper’ stars singer-actress Charlene Choi (‘77 Heartbreaks’) in the role of Siu Man, a sexually repressed woman who, for unknown psychological reasons, has been unable to consummate her marriage with her husband (Deep Ng). Frustrated, her husband divorces her.
At her father’s restaurant where Siu Man works, a new chef, Jiahao, played by Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-jen (‘White Ant’) joins the kitchen. Educated in culinary school in France, Jiahao’s free-spirited and casually flirtatious ways at first gets on Siu Man’s nerves. But slowly, Jiahao’s charms start to work on her. Siu Man and Jiahao start to bond over the shared love for food, with Jiahao determined to recreate Siu Man’s chef father’s signature dishes.
One night, she accidentally stumbles upon Jiahao having passionate sex in the kitchen, and she starts to see him in a different light. Soon, as expected, she slowly opens herself to him and he somehow is able to get her to overcome her guardedness and they have intercourse.
Choi handles her role well, putting in an understated but incredibly focused performance. The script lacks certain psychological motives and insight and it is Choi’s performance that plugs the gap and lends her character believability.
Notwithstanding a heavy-handed score, ‘The Lady Improper’ is a sensitive and sincere portrayal of a modern woman’s struggle with her sexuality.
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