STARRING David Caruso, steamy femme fatale Linda Fiorentino (The Last Seduction ) and Chazz Palminteri (Bullets Over Broadway ), Jade received a critical pasting in the United States and consequently suffered dramatically at the box office. It was predicted to take in US$12 million (about HK$74 million) on the opening weekend, which shrank alarmingly to US$4 million after the reviews hit the streets. Hong Kong is unlikely to lift this poor movie's fortunes, despite Caruso's appearance in town at the premiere. Jade is a dead duck, which is a shame because it has a lot to offer. For starters, it is beautifully shot by a master of the camera - William Friedkin, who also worked on The French Connection and The Exorcist. The opening sequence is seductively lit, gorgeously framed (without even mentioning the wonderful soundtrack) and pulls the viewer into a less-than-inspired murder-blackmail scenario. We are introduced to Caruso, as a San Francisco district attorney, who is socialising at the city's famed black-and-white ball with his lawyer buddy played by Palminteri and wife, psychiatrist (Fiorentino). Some sexual tension surfaces and it transpires that Caruso once had an affair with Fiorentino, which seems unresolved on his part. Caruso is then called away to investigate the brutal, sexually-driven murder of a powerful politician whom Fiorentino was the last person to see alive. All sorts of kinkiness emerges (did I mention this is a Category III film?), with Caruso uncovering engraved pillboxes full of pubic hair - one bears the legend Jade - and a hideaway house-of-fun in which the politician got up to wild sexual hijinks. Efforts to identify Jade seem to be pointing in Fiorentino's direction, but witnesses are killed off as soon as they emerge.. The main thrust of Jade is how it is shot, which is curiously compelling. The acting is low-key, gritty and determined - particularly on the parts of Caruso and Fiorentino - and goes a long way towards retaining the attention of the viewer. Caruso, meanwhile, is serious and watchable, as Palminteri makes the best of a very small role. The movie, though, has its problems. Mainly, you can tell whodunit within 20 minutes, and how they did it is not enough to keep anyone glued to their seats. Shallow Grave, meanwhile, is a sicker-than-sick black comedy from Britain, shot on a fraction of Jade's budget - yet it is 10 times more enjoyable. Set largely within the confines of a yuppie flat in Edinburgh, Shallow Grave stars Kerry Fox (most notable for her portrayal of Janet Frame in An Angel at My Table ), Christopher Eccleston and Ewan McGregor as three upmarket flatmates looking to let a room. They find a seemingly ideal candidate in the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen), who promptly moves in and dies, leaving a suitcase full of money under the bed. This is where personalities start to unravel, with the initially aggressive McGregor spearheading a campaign to bury Hugo's body and make off with the cash. But the balance of power shifts and shifts again in the flat, with each roommate finding hidden 'talents' as the scenario becomes more grotesque and the body count mounts. Directed by Danny Boyle, Shallow Grave is a fresh piece of film-making, nicely observed and suitably sick. Reports from England have suggested it is a Tarantino-like 'sensation', but that is not quite the case. Still, Shallow Grave is gripping, the moral bankruptcy of the characters is fascinatingly drawn, and it has some top-notch moments of black humour, particularly when the police are involved. Plus, for its price, the set design (Kave Quinn) and photography (Brian Tufano) are particularly slick and innovative. Shallow Grave is definitely the pick of the movies on release in Hong Kong at the moment. Shallow Grave (UA, Astor and Columbia Classics cinemas); Jade (Panasia circuit)
