The ups and downs of the stock market, the hustle to buy expensive homes, the urge to make easy money the crooked way – Life Without Principle is the apt title for Johnnie To’s exploration of morality and amorality in the financial sector.
The celebrated Hong Kong director behind the Election trilogy and Mad Detective made Life Without Principle in 2011. Market crashes have preceded and succeeded the film’s release, giving it something of a timeless quality. Indian viewers will relate closely to the crisply narrated drama, which is available on Netflix.
A bag containing five million dollars connects three sets of characters. Financial analyst Teresa (Denise Ho), who is under pressure to meet her sales targets, forces an elderly woman to commit her life savings to a high-risk fund. Teresa’s other client, the loan shark Chung (Chung Yeun), is too smart to invest in the fund, but provides Teresa a way out of her personal predicament – if she can ignore her conscience.
Police inspector Cheung’s morals are similarly in danger of compromise. His wife Connie wants to put down precious money for a condominium with an eye-watering view and a sky-high price. Through his work in Hong Kong’s working-class neighbourhoods, Cheung (Richie Jen) keeps meeting elderly victims of previous financial seesawing.
In the third strand, the lowly triad member Panther (Sean Lau) finds himself sucked into the share market vortex. Investment in stocks is like gambling, a triad boss coolly tells Panther – corporations exploit human nature for profit. When then should Panther hesitate from grabbing the opportunity to make millions, even if it means betrayal?
Life Without Principle is set in unglamorous parts of Hong Kong, in warren-like offices and cramped restaurants. From gangsters to investors, everyone is feeling the money pinch – birthday parties are downscaled (vegetarian only) and the reliance on welfare checks is high. Out of this relatable scenario, Johnnie To spins an engrossing tale of gullibility, temptation and deceit.
While the plot strand involving Teresa reveals how banking systems use complicated language and impressive-looking data sheets to overwhelm customers, the track revolving around Panther reveals the thin line between financial management and crime. Superbly played by Sean Lau, Panther embodies the precariousness and opportunism that result from the encounter between old and new ways of making money.
