Mad Detective (神探). 2007. Hong Kong. Directed by Johnnie To. With Lau Ching-wan, Andy On, Kelly Lin, Gordon Lam Ka-tung. Digital. Courtesy IFC Films. In Cantonese; English subtitles. 89 min.
Johnnie To’s body of work reads like an exploration of human psychology. His protagonists operate on ambiguous, complex motivations, teetering between honor and opportunism, resolution and fear. Mad Detective, co-directed with Wai Ka-fai, delves into the psyche of a mentally disturbed ex-detective, performed with nuance and vulnerability by Lau Ching-wan (Loving You, Lifeline), who possesses the unusual gift of perceiving a criminal’s multiple personas. Enlisted by a rookie cop to hunt down the culprit of an unresolvable case, he relies entirely on his instincts and hallucinations. The film interweaves subjectivity and objectivity in a gripping character study, highlighting the thin line between madness and genius.