wildswans
in your head
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Atmospheric thriller set in one of the coldest cities of China
This is a gripping, psychological murder thriller set in Harbin, China where a murder case intertwines the lives of the main characters, leading to unexpected results. I would describe this as one of those dramas that depicts one's choices - and how one decision can snowball and lead someone down a morally corrupt and dark path. While I enjoyed the cool cinematography and snowy setting that the drama was set in, I felt like the narrative/script could have been written tighter, especially near the end.
CHARACTERS/ACTING
Yan Liang played by Qin Hao - a mischievous detective who is cocky and defiant, but has a superb sense of intuition. His predictions are usually correct (albeit lacking evidence). Qin Hao played him perfectly and I would say this is one of Qin Hao's defining roles. I felt like I wasn't watching Qin Hao the actor but Yan Liang the character
Guo Yu played by Xu Dai - he starts the drama as a fresh faced, naïve graduate who would do anything for his first love Xiao Ru , but towards the end turns into a manipulative and greedy narcissist who only cares about himself. Maybe because it was only 12 episodes, but I felt that his change was too abrupt. He started out the drama being extremely gullible and slow witted, but near the end turns into some kind of unrecognizable mastermind. Xu Dai did a good job overall, although some scenes felt a bit overacted. There was a scene in ep 12 where he confessed to Xiao Ru and was yelling in the apartment that Li Feng Tian should die and honestly that entire monologue was overdone and dragged out
Zhu Hui Ru (Xiao Ru) played by Deng Jia Jia - a complex character who starts out timid and soft spoken, but eventually starts to become hardened and jaded by the events around her. There were multiple times where I felt myself screaming at her not to run into dangerous situations ie. when she decided to deliver food to her eventual attacker/rapist ALONE in the middle of no where, or at the end when she confronted Guo Yu alone when she knew full well what he was capable of. I think Deng Jia Jia did mostly a good job, but not entirely consistent - she tended to show a lot of blankness in scenes that required emotional nuance
Luo Wen played by Yao Lu - a gifted forensic examiner turned serial killer, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to his missing wife and daughter. In my opinion, I felt that his motive to turn into a killer wasn't as compelling as I was expecting. With that said, he was an extremely layered character - you know that he killed all those people but also can't help but feel sorry for him, and almost root for him. The actor did a superb job - the kind of actor that delivers his lines in a quiet, subtle manner that demands your attention.
Li Feng Tian played by Ning Li - a mysterious mortician by day, and a debt collector/assassin by night for triads. This guy was scary as hell. He was the original Snowman Killer who killed Luo Wen's daughter and wife, motivated by revenge (because Luo Wen was working on a case earlier that involved Li Feng Tiang's son who died). While Ning Li acted extremely well as the horrifying serial killer who kills without blinking, the character was a bit too god-like for my liking. I'm sorry but how the hell did he manage to kill all those people and the police somehow didn't realize they went missing? They just disappeared into thin air as if they didn't exist? For example, he killed Guo Yu's roommate and colleague but somehow the police don't realize he went missing?
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The strength of the drama is how stylized the drama was shot. The cold, snowy, and dreary setting in Harbin with its Russian architectural influences added a chilling atmosphere to the drama. A perfect setting for crime and murder.
OVERALL
In all, I enjoyed watching this crime drama - it kept me on the edge of my seat and I felt that the performances overall were quite compelling. I would say that the first part of the drama far outweighs the second half, due to some sloppy writing near the end. Not as good as The Bad Kids, but still one of the better crime/mystery dramas in the c-drama world.
CHARACTERS/ACTING
Yan Liang played by Qin Hao - a mischievous detective who is cocky and defiant, but has a superb sense of intuition. His predictions are usually correct (albeit lacking evidence). Qin Hao played him perfectly and I would say this is one of Qin Hao's defining roles. I felt like I wasn't watching Qin Hao the actor but Yan Liang the character
Guo Yu played by Xu Dai - he starts the drama as a fresh faced, naïve graduate who would do anything for his first love Xiao Ru , but towards the end turns into a manipulative and greedy narcissist who only cares about himself. Maybe because it was only 12 episodes, but I felt that his change was too abrupt. He started out the drama being extremely gullible and slow witted, but near the end turns into some kind of unrecognizable mastermind. Xu Dai did a good job overall, although some scenes felt a bit overacted. There was a scene in ep 12 where he confessed to Xiao Ru and was yelling in the apartment that Li Feng Tian should die and honestly that entire monologue was overdone and dragged out
Zhu Hui Ru (Xiao Ru) played by Deng Jia Jia - a complex character who starts out timid and soft spoken, but eventually starts to become hardened and jaded by the events around her. There were multiple times where I felt myself screaming at her not to run into dangerous situations ie. when she decided to deliver food to her eventual attacker/rapist ALONE in the middle of no where, or at the end when she confronted Guo Yu alone when she knew full well what he was capable of. I think Deng Jia Jia did mostly a good job, but not entirely consistent - she tended to show a lot of blankness in scenes that required emotional nuance
Luo Wen played by Yao Lu - a gifted forensic examiner turned serial killer, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to his missing wife and daughter. In my opinion, I felt that his motive to turn into a killer wasn't as compelling as I was expecting. With that said, he was an extremely layered character - you know that he killed all those people but also can't help but feel sorry for him, and almost root for him. The actor did a superb job - the kind of actor that delivers his lines in a quiet, subtle manner that demands your attention.
Li Feng Tian played by Ning Li - a mysterious mortician by day, and a debt collector/assassin by night for triads. This guy was scary as hell. He was the original Snowman Killer who killed Luo Wen's daughter and wife, motivated by revenge (because Luo Wen was working on a case earlier that involved Li Feng Tiang's son who died). While Ning Li acted extremely well as the horrifying serial killer who kills without blinking, the character was a bit too god-like for my liking. I'm sorry but how the hell did he manage to kill all those people and the police somehow didn't realize they went missing? They just disappeared into thin air as if they didn't exist? For example, he killed Guo Yu's roommate and colleague but somehow the police don't realize he went missing?
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The strength of the drama is how stylized the drama was shot. The cold, snowy, and dreary setting in Harbin with its Russian architectural influences added a chilling atmosphere to the drama. A perfect setting for crime and murder.
OVERALL
In all, I enjoyed watching this crime drama - it kept me on the edge of my seat and I felt that the performances overall were quite compelling. I would say that the first part of the drama far outweighs the second half, due to some sloppy writing near the end. Not as good as The Bad Kids, but still one of the better crime/mystery dramas in the c-drama world.
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