There's not a constant habit of letting others outside of Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai occupy the directing seat in a Milkyway produced film but the choice to do so have generated the likes of Beyond Hypothermia, Expect The Unexpected (with rumoured, unofficial To involvement), The Longest Nite (ditto), Gimme Gimme, Spacked Out and Sealed With A Kiss. The production house obviously has what it takes to mix up the genre work without resorting to full on mainstream cinema as well as being fearless of letting new filmmakers find a voice. Enter Law Wing-Cheong, having co-directed Running Out Of Time 2 as well as assisting and editing for Johnnie To for several years on the mentioned varied genre work (going all the way back to 1995's Loving You).

Taking on the serious subject of breast cancer, it's easy to assume that there is surely Wong Jing involvement behind the surface and that a socially relevant issue may get exploited in favour of cinema revenues. However star Miriam Yeung (fresh from her acclaimed turn in Fruit Chan's exquisite Dumplings) is reportedly a spokeswoman for breast cancer and sensitivity instead of political incorrectness surely will take center stage? Controversy arose outside of the filmmaker's beforehand unknown choices though as poster designs of a computer created bare chest of a woman was pulled from Hong Kong's subway system. Coincidentally the Mainland censors praised the artwork when it reached their market. Funny how that works and Hong Kong ultimately got stuck with the blank art featured above, firmly showing the reunion of Yeung and Ren though (latest vehicle for the both being Elixir Of Love). Aaaaaanyway....

By god it's difficult to be uncool towards a film that means well. Playing out like an ordered public service announcement, you have yourself a crowded character gallery stuck way into the sticky, hectic world of urban, high profile employment (and their own asses). No one really never slows down to smell the flowers or are feeling true empathy towards things. Wake up call time then, why not let it be breast cancer? Now, reevaluating, recycling and reexamining themes of how you cope with a sudden setback such as this is NEVER a bad thing and with a little skill, you can squeeze out the same content and still create affecting cinema. 2 Become 1 possesses that realization but it's buried underneath the quick fix the production eventually transforms into. The switch in moods is of course something Hong Kong cinema never really will abandon so we do get a taste of Miriam Yeung being back in her old shoes in the genre as well as performing drama in between. Also featured: a little loudmouthed comedy, a little line delivery in stereo by grating characters and a stereotypical gay supporting male character. Yep, it's still a typical time at the Hong Kong movies. Law Wing-Cheong makes sure 2 Become 1 equals plentiful already but obviously is going to take a left turn into more sincere territory. A tricky turn, that has to be said.

The slight success the film has eventually comes when at these serious points but wouldn't you know it if Miriam Yeung's journey comes off as handled very casually despite. Again, you won't develop hatred when being flashed before you an age old character journey such as this but as the turns are rather dark also, the methods employed by Law rings of a disinterest or a hindrance perhaps to really reach inside and grab (gently preferably). Strikes against him continues to be an awfully manipulative score, wacky supporting characters sometimes straight out of mou lei tau-land (and a few too many characters on the side anyway) but why does 2 Become 1 eventually reach some form of minor satisfaction? It's not due to some form of classic chemistry between the leads (fluff excursion Elixir Of Love was more effective in that regard) but Law showcases a straight on sincerity at later points in the film that makes Bingo's self-realization take shape into a real situation to respond to on a viewer level. A realization also having to do with Richie Ren's Vincent truly being a helping, divine hand. On a cast side note, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a brief appearance by Shaw Brother's veteran actress Lily Li, playing Bingo's mom.

Props goes out to the filmmakers for indeed handling the subject at hand with a lean touch and instead being more firm when highlighting people's stuck up, stuck in and all out evil behaviour. Unreasonable acts in the face of a life changing disease, that you find at center in 2 Become 1, realized with somewhat of a solid touch by Law Wing-Cheong and Milkyway. While this is a few notches different than the fluff the production house needed to put out once (Needing You chief among them), any intentions to differentiate from that output kind of failed. 2 Become 1 does however carry social value and will undoubtedly have an effect despite the bumpy ride along the way. Some should be satisfied then, the victims of cancer will be highlighted even more and critics will have to learn to swallow a partly dire pill to get to the actual minor right chords. Law Wing-Cheong probably shouldn't strive to be a director that delivers a 10 cent hamburger of a movie however.

Successful advertising executive Bingo (Yeung) devotes herself to her prosperous career and her waspish best friends. On a night out with the said friends, Bingo catches the eye of suave doctor V (Ren) who lays on a charm offensive to woo her. Though the tactics succeed, she is left in a state of disbelief when V tells her to check out a small lump on her breast as he fears it may be cancerous. Bingo undergoes a mammogram that subsequently reveals the lump to be malignant and she therefore faces the possible ordeal of a partial mastectomy. As she takes time to consider her options, she looks to alternative methods of treatment, reunites with an ex-boyfriend she hasn't seen for years and confronts her feelings for V.

As a self-confessed Miriam Yeung fan, it gives me no pleasure to report that this is among her very weakest work. Full of negative characterisation, sloppily handled sentiment and rudderless direction, this is a film that drags along like the walking dead and manages to smother its noble intentions with complete indecision. Is this a rom-com with breast cancer as a convenient plot pivot? Is it a flag-waving rhetoric on the triumph of one woman's professional ambitions despite her illness? If you stay the course until the end of the film, you're unlikely to have any more of a concrete idea.

Miriam Yeung is never stretched beyond the comfortable persona she has long had on screen and director Law Wing-Cheong ensures that the weak material imprisons her to this personality. Miriam's naturally appealing presence is the only things that Law manages to desert; Bingo is presented as bolshy and her friends prickly, but this can never be mistaken for any real strength on their parts. The film concentrates so much on their pointless rantings about mankind and their contradictory compulsion to betray those close to them for the sake of the opposite sex that it hardly paints women in the most positive light. It eventually seems that the story is more of a celebration of a materialistic cosmopolitan lifestyle than a appreciation of the battle many women have to face with breast cancer. If the intention of this film was to highlight a disease which is still treated as a taboo subject by some, all concerned have failed dismally.

When '2 Become 1' does finally edge away from the awkward rom-com it initially sets up, it remains difficult to feel emotionally involved in Bingo's plight. When she's not brow-beating (and literally beating) V for the crime of warning her about the suspected cancerous growth, she's fighting some absurd crusade for her advertising company - the finale is far too preoccupied with her 'triumphant' success with winning a lucrative contract than the fears of the upcoming mastecomy. It manages to avoid offering re-assurances or even tackling potential side-effects of the treatment in favour of a very pallid 'sisters are doing it all themselves' polemic, therefore distancing itself from the difficulties many women face when they hear that dreaded diagnosis. One scene even suggests, albeit in a comical way, that your occupation and the money it offers is far more important than getting proper treatment for a potentially terminal condition; Bingo's boss flatly rejects her request for leave to get treatment and then she cravenly accepts this ridiculous command.

Asian cinema has so often treated such subjects with a skilful balance of genuine empathy and realistic characterisation that manages to avoid tiresome sentimentality. In frequently showing ordinary people facing terrible circumstances with dignity, it has been able to avoid the melodrama of the Hollywood treatment. Unfortunately '2 Become 1' has far more in common with these glossy and yet shallow productions than the fine heritage of subtle film-making with a message that it can turn to.