Clean My Name, Mr. Coroner
Reviewed by YTSL
In “Playing with Strangers”, three identifying
traits of Ruby Wong’s character were her liking borscht, Teletubbies and James
Yuen movies. Although I do not share the strength of that agreeable
individual’s passion for all three of those items, I can see the enjoyment
and comfort that comes from (her) having a fondness for them. With regards
to the output of screenwriter-director Yuen: This would probably apply
most to the works he crafted under the United Filmmakers Organization (UFO)
aegis (among which are the under-rated “Always on My Mind”, the exuberant
“He’s a Woman, She’s a Man”, its “Who’s the Woman, Who’s the Man?” sequel
and the first effort he helmed, “The Wedding Days”); but it bears noting that
he hasn’t done too badly when working with others as well (Cf. his having
scripted “A Moment of Romance” plus put in double duty for the Wong Jing
produced “Your Place or Mine”).
Clearing the name of an undercover cop who has
been framed may not be a story-line that leaps to mind when thinking of James
Yuen movies. Upon looking beyond the surface though, some of his trademark
gentle touches do indeed become apparent. Also, and in much the same
way as Milkyway Image’s “Comeuppance” (which this film reminds me of to some
extent), this surprisingly generally low-key ensemble piece -- which does
have some tender romantic and chuckle-inducing moments along with the necessary
allotment of emotionally darker ones -- is one more Y2K work that benefits
from having a polished script along with quality performances from its quite
diverse cast (whose supporting actors include producer Joe Ma along with
character actors like Wayne Lai and Jerry Lamb). Credit too is due
to its prolific scriptwriter for CLEAN (sic.?) MY NAME, MR. CORONER! having
some of the most three-dimensional characters I’ve encountered in any film.
A case in point: The “Mr. Coroner” referred to in CLEAN MY NAME, MR.
CORONER! is shown to be a bow tie-wearing, wine-drinking, classical music-listening
and soft-spoken individual as well as an expert plus dedicated pathologist.
A fastidious man of good taste and high principles, Keith Ko (who is very
well played by an actually restrained acting Francis Ng) leads a rather solitary
life -- he has problems finding a woman who can deal with his matter of fact
discussions of his grisly line of work over dinner -- of fairly dull routine...until
a troubled man named Fred enters his office and gets him involved with a
situation in which Fred stands accused of killing, then decapitating and
cutting off other end sections of his police partner as well as having absconded
with the HK$5 million in cash which had been meant to be used in a sting
operation involving Mainland Chinese counterfeiters.
Although Fred has his faults (including a bad temper and foul mouth), it
is pretty clear from the onset that he (who is played by Nick Cheung) is
innocent of the crimes that he has been accused of committing. Rather,
the big question in CLEAN MY NAME, MR. CORONER! is who has set him up to
look like the immensely guilty party. After seeing the headless corpse,
Fred is convinced that his (former) partner, Herman Law, is alive and the
real culprit. But did Herman set up Fred on his own, or are there others
that are looking to pin the blame on Fred so that they can escape with all
of the money? If the latter, who are they? Also, where is the
current location of the loot which Fred has been asked to turn in, along
with himself, at the old police station where his commanding officer (C.
K. Lau, a 25 year veteran member of the force, is portrayed by former Shaw
Brothers star and 1999 HKFA Best Supporting Actor, Ti Lung) has an office,
from whose verandah he likes to look out at the surrounding area?
In trying to track down Herman, Fred and Keith not only manage to find his
(then) very pregnant wife, Bobo Lam, but the coroner also successfully delivers
the woman’s baby after her water bag burst in the middle of Fred’s questioning
her about the whereabouts of her husband. Someone else whose movements
are worth taking into account is Rick, who is one more plainclothes policeman
working in the unit headed by Officer Lau. However, CLEAN MY NAME,
MR. CORONER!’s fourth major character is not Herman, Bobo or Rick but, instead,
a quiet bartender whose name is revealed rather late in the film to be Ling
(and who comes in the welcome form of Stephanie Che). Though her link
with Fred does not initially appear to be all that strong (he had gone to
her bar to get a drink for 87 consecutive evenings but uttered only a single
line each of those times prior to her taking a seriously drunk and unconscious
him off the street into her apartment for one night), Ling’s presence in
his life turns out in some ways to be his salvation.
Lest it not already be obvious, I really enjoyed my viewing of CLEAN MY NAME,
MR. CORONER!; this particularly after the first ten minutes taken to set
up the story, when things really get going. For those who had not thought
to check out this crime drama which happens to be an artfully detailed drama
as well as suspenseful “whodunit” because its title made them think it was
a black comedy, do consider giving it a go. And especially for those
who believe that Nick Cheung’s presence is guaranteed to ruin a movie and/or
still have to cotton on re Francis Ng’s possession of a large amount of acting
ability, this is one offering that really may be worth checking out to get
you to change your mind -- and have a change of heart -- re two individuals
who probably are going to figure quite a bit in many future HKSAR works.
My rating for this film: 7.5