Deng Chao back in his element as detective in ‘The Liquidator’
BEIJING: Award-winning actor Deng Chao is back in his element as a detective in The Liquidator, which has just opened across China.
The new crime thriller, adapted from best-selling novelist Lei Mi’s book Evil Minds: City Light, marks veteran TV drama director Xu Jizhou’s first foray into movie directing.
His co-stars include Taiwanese actor Ethan Juan and actress Liu Shishi, who is known for her roles in period TV dramas.
Inspired by real-life events, the movie unfolds with four cases: A teenager commits suicide as he can no longer endure a teacher’s physical punishment; an elderly woman is forced to leave home by her ruthless son; firefighters fail to rescue residents from a burning building because the only exit is blocked by a car; a college student helps an injured elderly woman who in turn demands compensation.
While Juan stars as the man hired to kill those blamed for the four cases, Deng plays the detective tasked with hunting him down.
But during the ensuing catand-mouse chase, the lines between justice and retribution soon become blurred.
The movie is more than a crime thriller, director Xu says at the Beijing event, and aims to explore the darker side of humanity.
In test screenings across China, the movie attracted more than 100,000 viewers and won positive reviews, making it one of the holiday season’s mostawaited films.