Leslie Cheung, Actor--From Hong Kong to the World-Part 4

Part 4

Leslie also turned in fine starring roles in popular films like the romantic cop thriller “Moonlight Express”.  In Jacob Cheung’s “The Kid”, Leslie struck just the right note as the free-spirited foster father of an adorable little boy.  Careful never to have his performance veer into excessive sentimentality, Leslie gave a heartwarming portrayal of the real meaning of fatherhood.  In “Double Tap”, he portrayed a psychologically complex marksman who, after killing in self-defense, almost against his will is transformed into a loathsome killer.

Leslie Cheung turned in dozens of fine performances in his career.  Even when the overall quality of a film was not high, Leslie typically would give his all to a role and turn in a good to excellent performance.  He admitted to being a perfectionist and his careful preparation and hard work are evident in almost every screen role.  But what elevated his performances were the qualities of heart and soul with which he imbued every character.  Every role he played is unique, with a different history, different motivations and different personality.  Each character is original.  While a character might share something of the personality and physical appearance of Leslie Cheung, in every instance he has left us with a unique creation that belongs to that film and that film alone.

Leslie’s achievement in his 23 year film career is truly extraordinary.  He received 13 award nominations and 4 awards, and might have won more if some of his characters were not pushing the boundaries of what mainstream society was comfortable with at that time.  His portrayal of the morally bankrupt, promiscuous homosexual lover in “Happy Together” was brilliant.  But was Hong Kong ready to acknowledge its most prominent recently outed gay actor for playing a gay role, even one that went against type?  Was the Hong Kong film industry comfortable recognizing Leslie for his role as a category III film director in a film that started out with Leslie in a category III love scene with his leading lady?  Perhaps Leslie was ahead of his time, or too strong in his choice of roles and public persona for Hong Kong to fully accept and embrace him.  At his best, Leslie carved out his own space in which his characters could be fully developed in all their sensual and psychological complexity.  Cheung Kwok-Wing was ahead of the curve in many ways as an actor.  He was a trail blazer, a risk taker, a consummate professional, and one of the finest actors Hong Kong has ever produced.  If you haven’t seen one of Leslie’s films in a while, I would recommend that you watch one, five, a dozen, and fall anew under the spell of one of the world’s most talented, charming and seductive actors.