The great Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To is broadly known for his riveting gangster dramas, with operatic gun fights, tense drama, and conflicted characters. But To is a skilled filmmaker in many different genres, and one of my favorite films of his is the excellent romantic comedy Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, which he co-directed with frequent collaborator Wai Ka-fai. It’s one of the best love triangle movies ever, and it’s a perfect movie to get cozy and watch with someone you have a crush on this holiday season. And if you want to watch it, the clock is ticking: It’s leaving Netflix Dec. 1, and there’s currently no other way to watch it — there’s no way to rent or purchase it digitally, no other streaming service has it, and physical releases range from “exorbitantly expensive” to “difficult to find.”
Starring three gorgeous and charming people (a great foundation for a romance), Don’t Go Breaking My Heart follows Chi-yan (Gao Yuanyuan), a recently single financial analyst who finds her heart pulled between two competing suitors: a CEO (Louis Koo) who stood her up, and an architect (Daniel Wu) she helps get back on his feet after going through a rough time.
Both men are charming and suave, but offer different attributes as prospective partners — Koo’s CEO is more removed emotionally but offers financial stability, while Wu’s architect is full of romantic yearning, but he’s still picking up the pieces of his life. It’s understandable why the choice is difficult — this isn’t your typical “one good option, one bad” love triangle story (and To uses the background of a financial crisis to cleverly portray finding a life partner as an act of comparison shopping in the free market of dating). Individual viewers will have their own preference for which partner she chooses, but you could see her being content with either of them. They also end up working, at different times, in the building across from where Chi-yan works. That leads to one of Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’s most charming touches: The characters flirt by putting up sticky notes on the large glass windows of their buildings, making smiley faces and sending messages to each other. The glass windows are also a great opportunity for one of the age-old rom-com tropes: Mix-ups and miscommunications leading to hijinks.
The movie’s frequently funny, too, with sight gags, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and physical comedy galore. Part His Girl Friday, part Playtime, and all fun, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart is an excellent example of a generational director working at the height of his powers and absolutely nailing a genre.
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart is streaming on Netflix through Nov. 30.
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