Rewind: ‘Accident (2009)’ Review
Stars: Louis Koo, Michelle Ye, Stanley Fung, Lam Suet | Written by Szeto Kam-Yuen, Nicholl Tang Nik-Kei | Directed by Soi Cheang
Accident opens on a seemingly innocuous occurrence, as a short-tempered man worries that he will be late while stuck behind a car with a flat tyre. As the man takes drastic action to drive around the car, the unfolding scene results in a chain reaction that ends with his death. What may seem like an accident for the man – revealed to be a Triad elder – is actually a carefully orchestrated assassination courtesy of the Brain (Louis Koo).
With a team made up of the voice of reason known as The Woman (Michelle Ye), the increasingly forgetful Uncle (Stanley Fung), and the unfortunately nicknamed Fatty (Lam Suet), the Brain has built a career from making his hits look like unfortunate accidents. Director Soi Cheang showcases the planning process in fascinatingly methodical ways, as the precise craft results in something which resembles a Final Destination style death.
The tale then takes a fascinating turn when the team’s latest assignment goes disastrously wrong, resulting in the Brain suspecting that somebody else has planned an ‘accident’ on them. The structured planning from his work leaves him unable to see what happened as just an accident, despite the Woman’s best attempts to make him see sense. When he has planned such similar occurrences to the tiniest details, there is a difficulty for him to believe such events could be replicated by chance, and finds it easier to pin what happened on a potential culprit.
Director Cheang adapts the taut script by Szeto Kam-Yuen and Nicholl Tang Nik-Kei, bringing alive a tale that resembles the lovechild of Accident Man and The Conversation. As the story becomes driven by paranoia, the scenes grow utterly tense while anchored by Louis Koo’s compelling portrayal. He provides the wounded heart to this tale as the man driven by grief, whose systematic mindset goes from his greatest weapon to potentially his greatest enemy. If you are willing to take a chance on this Hong Kong thriller, Accident is a fantastic gem that is available to watch on Netflix UK.
