A dark, psychological thriller with fantastical flourishes, Diary is a solo outing for Oxide Pang. Released alongside brother Danny’s supernatural thriller Forest of Death (2007), it is the better of the two films but still requires patience and perseverance throughout its duller patches.
Winnie (Charlene Choi - one half of Cantopop superstars, Twins), a troubled young woman lives a miserable life alone in her grungy apartment since her boyfriend Seth went away. She spends her days scribbling thoughts inside her diary, making creepy wooden puppets and chopping up some suspicious looking meat. Her phone conversations with the errant Seth provide no explanation for why he left. “Men would do anything for you before they get laid”, Winnie confides in her best friend Yvonne (Isabella Leong). “After that they all change.” Yvonne urges Winnie to move on, but she begins stalking Ray (Shawn Yue), a young man whom she mistakes for Seth. Recovering her senses, Winnie begins a romance with Ray, against Yvonne’s advice. One night she confesses Seth was killed in a car crash, but Ray’s suspicions are roused when she keeps changing her story. It seems Winnie is schizophrenic, struggling to retain her sanity amidst strange hallucinations lurking in the background (including falling snow, a black cloud seeping into the room, and a giant puppet stalking her).
Flashbacks merge with fantasies, daydreams punctuated by moments of lucidity, until it becomes impossible to separate the real from the imagined. As Ray’s behaviour grows colder, Winnie is drawn to a chair that keeps moving by itself. Somewhat audaciously the movie suddenly stops and replays (complete with opening credits) revealing the true extent of Winnie’s madness. But this proves only the beginning, as a police investigation yields a plot twist, and the movie replays yet again turning everything we’ve learned on its head. Nobody is who they seem to be…
Diary finds Oxide Pang riffing on Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965), although there are echoes also of Swedish psycho-thriller Next Door (2005). The initial twist isn’t particularly surprising, but still works because Winnie appears as shocked and appalled as we are. Choi, best known for her zany, comedic performances, is subdued and compelling. She plays Winnie so blank-eyed, bewildered and sad it is hard not to sympathise with her. Pang utilizes frame jumps, fast motion and subtle, effective touches of CG. But quiet moments like a shopping trip where Winnie’s mind slowly unravels remain the most affecting, grounded in everyday observations we can all relate to. Leong, a highly regarded actress in Hong Kong, matches Choi with a subtle performance hinting at revelations to come (and a nod to the finale of Psycho (1960)).
Lethargic at times, Diary is never as disturbing or deep as Repulsion, but often inspired with a climax that proves twisted, unsettling and absorbing.
