Film Review: PTU (2003)
- Very Average Joe
- Sep 24
- 3 min read
Title: PTU
Director(s): Johnnie To
Screenwriter(s): Yau Nai-hoi & Au Kin-yee
Studio: Milkyway Image
Released: 2003
Runtime: 1h 28m
Starring: Simon Yam, Lam Suet, Ruby Wong, Maggie Shiu
PTU, also known as PTU: Into the Perilous Night, is a Hong Kong police noir film with key moments of black comedy which, after 22 years since its release, deserves to be called a modern classic.
The film opens with Sgt Lo (Lam Suet) of the Anti-Triad Squad who antagonizes the triad Ponytail and his boys. Later, Lo gets beaten up by Ponytail’s boys and loses his revolver whilst, coincidentally and unrelated to Lo, Ponytail is taken out.
Lo then asks Sgt Ho (Simon Yam) of the PTU team on patrol not to report his missing firearm and give him the night to recover it. Meanwhile, Madam Cheung (Ruby Wong) from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigates Ponytail’s murder which threatens to escalate into a gang war.
The film follows the three parties over the course of a few hours of one night with Ho and Lo being the main viewpoint characters. The Police Tactical Unit (PTU) are uniformed cops but they are more specialized. Under the PTU umbrella includes sub-units like the famous counter-terrorist Special Duties Unit (SDU), although this film does not feature the SDU.
Given the timespan, one is tempted to think the pace will be unbearably slow. Although the pace is not lightning fast and the film is not action-packed, nor is it intended to be, the pacing is precisely managed. Every scene moves the plot, and even the rhythm and composition of the shots within a scene are precise: for example, the focus is on one character whilst another’s car moves away in the background. As such, it holds one’s attention throughout.
The main characters are modelled on the usual templates, but the solid performances and the consistent tension make them work.
Sgt Ho leads a squad of eight (including himself), splitting into two teams of four. He leads one team and Sgt Kat (Maggie Shiu) leads the other. Whilst Ho is willing to indulge Lo’s request to keep everything quiet because he’s the “reasonable and honorable guy”, Kat is the “by-the-book” type. Ho is not a corrupt or thug cop but he and this team are willing to bend the rules to get things done.
It is interesting that even in such a short timeframe, most of the cops are shown bending the rules, honorably motivated or not. And to add to the tension, there is rivalry between the departments. Cheung tries a bit too hard to be cool but she is understandably suspicious of everyone outside her own team. In other words, she’s the “ambitious control freak” whereas Lo is the incompetent fatso, the Chief Wiggum of the story.
Given the timeframe, the conflicts between the characters or their personalities are not too complex. The narrative certainly does not delve into the internal politics of the Hong Kong Police. There may be hints of something deeper but the film does not try too hard, which is good, because it would not be plausible otherwise.
The main complaint is that Kat does not have more screentime and dialogue. The by-the-book character may be stereotypical but it is a little bit of a waste of Maggie Shiu.
Visually, there are aspects typical of the genre. Obviously, it is shot entirely at night with effective use of contrast. Some shots make use of color saturation but this is not pushed too far or often. If anything, that can go further.
The camerawork makes good use of a variety of techniques without coming across as a mess. There is the common use of wider shots and slow dolly shots typical of the genre that really set the mood. But there are also tighter shots at the right moments. The sequencing and editing are good so the work never comes across as random or unfocused.
The film is not intensely thrilling and it is not a constant laugh-out-loud comedy, nor is it meant to be. It helps to understand Cantonese as some of the humor is from the dialogue. But it does have key moments of offset black humor and, overall, the tension captivates and holds one’s attention from start to finish.
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