Despite the nihilistic aura of Yau's subsequent works, The Odd One Dies comes with nothing of the kind whatsoever. It's also harder to determine whether actually Yau did have control as this flick is so wild it's more in tune with the mindset of Milkyway overall. Wai Ka-Fai might as well helmed this one! Regardless, it's the credited parties that should be acknowledged in absence of the truth and the credited parties have churned out a roller coaster-like gem.

Triad Mo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) unexpectedly wins a fortune at the gambling tables and instead of fulfilling the task of murdering a Thailand triad boss, he hires a Mainland woman (Carman Lee) to perform the task for him. A woman with a torn past and scores to settle with profiles in the triad world. As the date draws closer, so does Mo and the employed murderer...

Hong Kong cinema was well into the triad boom in movies by this point in time and had even begun deconstruction it through efforts such as Once Upon A Time In Triad Society. Yau and company furthers that but puts Milkyway's trademark spins to everything within The Odd One Dies. Presenting Takeshi Kaneshiro's Brother Mo as a persistent and probably stupid Forrest Gump-esque triad initially, the image of him almost resembles a robot with many wires lose or crossed. Hardly a guy of multiple words and whose only knowledge is the requisite triad look, Mo's apparent lack of braincells still gets him far in this world. A world with gun dealers that look like walking health hazards to low-life triad bosses and their silly henchmen. It's suitably far away from the glossy world that Ekin Cheng runs in Young And Dangerous.

This atmosphere, as always competently lensed by Cheng Siu-Keung, is overblown visually and comes with Milkyway's real first attempt at subdued quirkiness. An aspect that always makes it with certain viewers to the max and thoroughly annoys others. By not focusing on a traditional narrative either and frankly going frustratingly slow at points, Yau challenges us to sit tight to get our rewards. And they do come. Enter Carman Lee and while the bonding between her and Takeshi seem shallow, Yau, To and Wai have aces up their sleeve. Namely laser sharp instincts to deliver affecting, albeit temporary romance and comedy.

Yes, The Odd One Dies, despite its sporadic but graphic violence, is a Milkyway production that thoroughly can be classified as a comedy/drama despite its stuffed generic gangster content. Shot in 1997 and set around the New Year, the other overblown theme of the handover crawls to the surface as our main characters are looking for a way out. Not redemption but a flight path after fulfilling a last duty to the jiang hu. Yau continues to jump freely between drawn out (sometimes borderlining on arthouse) sequences of insanely funny, subdued comedy and going the emotional route with our romantic angle. Dialogue is also used sparsely but Wai Ka-Fai's script delivers poignancy and the performers takes the film to unexpected affecting places.

The Odd One Dies proves that you need subtext and characterdepth to achieve substance but also that you don't really need to go overboard with backstory. It's the classic example of suitable weight for 90 minutes (a running that feels just right despite plenty of content), directed and produced by sharp minds of the Hong Kong movie industry. Milkyway again were amongst the few in town who simply decided to produce gems.

The Odd One Dies, like most Milkyway productions, has a group of dedicated fans who swear by this movie. While I agree there are some good things about the film, it's ultimately more than a bit too quirky and indulgent for its own sake. There is a certain feeling of coolness running through the movie, brought on by the inventive cinematography, eclectic soundtrack, dramatic lighting and withdrawn performances of the actors. There's a nice look and feel to the film; it's certainly a pretty one to watch. I also enjoyed the circular nature of the story, which seems to be a common thread in Milkyway productions. At first, at least. Eventually, this leads to what I feel is The Odd One Dies' biggest fault. It feels like it goes nowhere.

To a certain extent I can understand that this might be the point of the movie (whatever we might do in life ultimately doesn't matter much), as hammered home in a scene where Kaneshiro attempts to flush the money from the job down the toilet. There's also the theme of loneliness and isolation in crowded Hong Kong. Again, this is hammered home in a scene where Kaneshiro and Lee miss each other from a few feet away while being engulfed by a New Year's crowd. But there have been other films (most notably Chungking Express) which have dealt with these themes and presented them better -- or at least not as annoyingly.

I may not agree with HK film critic Paul Foronoff much, but I will side with him in that I am so sick of cigarette smoking denoting cool in HK cinema. Enough with the five-minute long shots of a character looking forlornly into space while being encircled by a ring of smoke already. It makes for an interesting visual diversion once in a while, but when you try to build your film around them (and similar shots or gimmicky plot devices or scenes), you're going to run into trouble, and that's what happens here. The Odd One Dies is an interesting -- but ultimately pretty boring -- look into the underworld of Hong Kong that's worth a look if you're really into the "new" New Wave movies, but holds little interest for those who are in the market for a hardcore action movie or riveting Triad drama.