Beyond the
Friendship; Father and Son
The most
elaborate thought that came to my mind after I watched “The Killer”, is the
importance of the two fatherly figures that significantly influence the
development of the two main characters (Enough to make Strong Men Weep). I was
also intrigued by the ways these two supporting characters influence the plot
development because more often than not, the supporting characters simply just
assist the main characters and have minimal effect on the plot itself,
especially in an action movie, but that was not the case in this movie. Both
characters had quite a bit of screen time, both individually and alongside with
the main characters. The supporting characters (fatherly figure), are
nonetheless Sidney and Chang, and the two assist John and Li Ying respectively
throughout the movie. The relationships between the two sets of father-son give
a deeper meaning to the story, rather than just love, and apparently male
intimacy also.
Sidney is a
retired contract killer, who has see his fair share of respect and admiration
by other people in his field when he was young, he injuring his shooting hand during a job, and
was forced into retirement because of the injury and age. In the movie, he
works for a ruthless triad boss named Johnny Weng as a middleman who assign
John’s job to him. John is also a contract killer who is in his prime years. He
is extremely skilled and naturally gifted, always gets the job done and keeps
himself level-headed. Sidney is John’s mentor; he taught John everything he
knows and is part of the reason why John is so successful. The two share a
mutual bond that is incorruptible, as evident in the story. When the first
scene begins at the church and Sidney assigns a new job to John, he asked John
if he was going to check the gun. John simply replies: “I trust you”, and does
not check the gun. It will be such an easy act just to check the gun, but
that’s how much trust John has for his mentor.
Later on in the movie, Sidney was
forced to betray John; first by telling his boss where John will be parking his
boat after a job, and second by trying to kill him when he visit John at his
place with fake money. Even though Sidney betrayed John twice, and went as far
as trying to kill him, John realizes that Sidney was scared for his own
well-being, and made an irrational decision to try to kill John in order to
save himself. John knows Sidney’s character enough to understand his situation,
and spared his life instead of killing him. Before John leaves his apartment,
he told Sidney that he never wants to see him again, but if you listen to the
way he said it, you can hear the sorrow for his voice, instead of anger. He was
more upset that he has lost a good friend, a mentor rather than furious because
he was betrayed by someone he trusted.
The two reconcile their
relationship when John witnesses how hard Sidney tried to get John’s money back
for him. They had a rather intense heart-to-heart talk when they both were
quite angry at themselves because they were unable to resolve their issues with
Johnny Weng. John was upset that Sidney was humiliated by Johnny Weng, and gave
his gun to Sidney (again), telling him Sidney that he will rather die than see
his friend being treated that way. Sidney was agitated by the fact that he was
unable to fulfill his promise to John. The most important dialogue between
Sidney and John was during this conversation (starting at 59:52), when they
realize truly how deep their friendships are. John told Sidney that he has
forgiven Sidney, because that’s what friends are supposed to.
In order for Sidney to full his
promise, he tried to ask Johnny Weng to give him John’s money again, but this
time with a much more violent approach. He ended up being beaten half to death,
but was able to get the money. In the end, he died in the arms of John by
taking multiple gunshots, but it was what he said that added a level of
sentimental emotions to the story. Before Sidney took his last breath, he
wanted to hear John’s validation and respect for his action, because John is
his good friend, much like a son to him, and asked him to end his life. The
trust and friendship the share is deep and admirably, much like the friendship
between Li Ying and Chang.
Although less intense than the relationship
between Sidney and John, Li Ying and Chang also shared a respected friendship,
but without the betrayals. Chang also had the least on-screen time compare to
other supporting characters such as Sidney and Jennie, so there is less to talk
about him in terms of character description. Chang is an experienced cop who is
Li Ying’s partner, which is another difference compare to Sidney and John’s
relationship. Chang and Li Ying are more of a partnership, but that should not
take away the fact that they two also share a deep bond. To cut to the chase,
you really experience for the first time (and the only time), that Li Ying, who
is portrayed as a hot-head and insensitive, truly cares for somebody. The scene
occurred when Chang was on his death bed and Li Ying went to visit him
(starting at 72:40). This is the first time that you see Li Ying was expressing
sadness, especially in his voice. He recalls when Chang was giving him an
advice when he was troubled; sometimes a pat (or a cigarette) from a friend can
really lift your spirit up. The tears from Li Ying further shows how much he
cared for Chang. The fact that Chang, risks his life to perform his duties as a
policeman, much like Li Ying would, motivated Li Ying to continue to pursue the
case.
I would admit that Chang and Li
Ying’s relationship as a father and a son is less apparent and evident than
Sidney and John’s relationship, but that should not take away from the fact
that both Chang and Sidney risks their lives to assist Li Ying and John, much
like a father would do for a son. Chang and Sidney are extremely important to
the development to the plot, as they combined motivated the turning points of
the plot several times. Both John and Li Ying waere devastated, much like how
someone would feel when members of their family passed away, when Sidney and
Chang died. It shows how much they care for their two fatherly figures,
somebody they have looked up to, and the regrets that they will not be able to
spend anymore with them.
