Review | Guilt by Design film review: Nick Cheung plays master hypnotist in preposterous Hong Kong courtroom drama
- Written and directed by three newcomers, film tries to put a fresh spin on the crime thriller drama. It is diverting in places, but has a farcical plot line
- Nick Cheung plays a hypnotherapist on jury service, who is blackmailed to hypnotise his fellow jurors, played by a fine ensemble cast whose talents are wasted
2.5/5 stars
If you have been wondering whether a commercial filmmaker would find the courage to address the dangers to rule of law in Hong Kong and the perceived erosion of judicial authority, along comes just such a film. It’s a pity, then, that Guilt by Design does so in such an unimaginative way, via a bogus take on the city’s legal system that’s larded with a farcical plot line involving hypnotherapy.
Scripted and directed by three new filmmakers (Paul Sze Pak-lam, Kenneth Lai Siu-kwan and Lau Wing-tai), this awkward mix of courtroom drama and action thriller is intermittently diverting. It tries to put a different spin on a formulaic crime thriller, but to enjoy it you’ll need to be able to suspend your disbelief.
Preposterous does not begin to describe the premise of Guilt by Design. Seconds before Xu and his six fellow jurors are sent away to deliberate on a verdict in a locked room, he receives a phone call from a crooked senior policeman (Eddie Cheung Siu-fai). Acting on behalf of the actual guilty party still at large, he blackmails Xu to convert the other jurors through hypnosis to reach a guilty verdict against the patently innocent defendant.