FANTASIA 2020: I WeirDO
fantasiaWriter and Director Liao Ming-Yi's feature debut I WeirDo is an enthralling and compelling look at a relationship confined by mental illness. The film is shot exclusively on an iPhone and boasts itself as the first film in Asia to do so – a strong statement to behold. Nevertheless, Ming-Yi's feature film debut is a brilliantly conceived and compelling success from start to finish.
Exploring the parameters of OCD and how it plays a part in this relationship between Austin Lin's Po-Ching and Nikki Hsieh's Chen Ching is both magical and deeply warming. Their respective conditions and how they see each other as both ying and yang offers an inciteful look into the condition itself, as well as the nuance of behaviour that has to be accustomed in order to survive it in daily life. Granted, the film is more so a comedic venture than anything else, and Ming-Yi puts forward a film wrapped in a comedic sentimentality yet, throughout, echoes the effects of the real world surrounding the couple and the pressures they encounter with a harsh and gut-punching reality.
Specifically, a twist of sorts is implemented that changes the perception of the film and its characters' motifs. A subverted element that, on the surface, is a saving gesture for the characters yet, in the same breath, condemns the ying from the yang in a brewing pot of torment. This pot, per se, opens the film into its next evolution of poignancy. How it is constructed with the respective performances of Austin Lin and Nikki Hsieh, as well as the pictures developing aspect ratio, are simply superb.
The performances are nothing short of outstanding. Each performer intertwines comedic embellishment with tremendous layers of emotional range that is conveyed in simplistic ease. The growth of each character and their ultimate decline is harrowing and enlightening in the same breath. More often than not, it is hard to not get lost in the existential dread and hope that combat each other, with the viewer never concrete in what direction this relationship is heading towards.
Adding to the anxiety and emotional pull, director and cinematographer Ming-Yi adds a subtle nuance of aspect ratios, ranging from 4:8 to 16:9, to highlight the relationship between the characters love tightening and being whole or slowly adding in darkness and separation. It is a small and subtle effect, but one that is undeniably powerful due to how it is pulled off to provoke emotional atmosphere.
It is unequivocally clear that writer-director Liao Ming-Yi is one to watch. I WeirDo is both an engaging and emotionally captivating feature that not only showcases the director's skill behind the camera but also shows a clear conviction to elevate his performers on screen, whom are equally astounding.
