A-Gu enlists a group of contract killers in the disguise of laundry service. One of them, code-named "No. 1, Greenfield Lane", is haunted by the ghosts of his victims. He seeks help from ...
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Title: The Laundryman (2015)
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| Credited cast: | |||
| Hsiao-chuan Chang | ... | No 1, Chingtian St. | |
| Sonia Sui | ... | A-Gu (as Tang Sui) | |
| Regina Wan | ... | Lin Hsiang (as Qian Wan) | |
| Yann Yann Yeo | ... | Captain Yang | |
| Shao-Huai Chang | ... | Figure-Maker (as Micheal Chang) | |
| Meng-Chieh Kao | ... | Pervert | |
| Peggy Tseng | ... | Phantom Woman | |
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
 |
Wan-Hao Chen | ... | Officer |
| Chao-jen Hsu | ... | The Laundry Uncle | |
| Kuan-yi Lee | ... | BOY | |
| Lieh Lee | ... | No-Head-Lady | |
| Chih-Ju Lin | ... | The Teacher | |
| Ming-Shuai Shih | ... | Unfilial Man | |
| Ming-shiou Tsai | ... | Detective Tang Wu-Hsiung | |
| Gino Yang | ... | Gangster A | |
A-Gu enlists a group of contract killers in the disguise of laundry service. One of them, code-named "No. 1, Greenfield Lane", is haunted by the ghosts of his victims. He seeks help from Lin Hsiang, a psychic. Lin helps him get rid of the ghosts, but the laundry hides secrets more than she bargains for. What "No. 1, Greenfield Lane" runs away from turn out to be the ghosts from his past. Written by anonymous
This is an interesting variant on the standard hitman film, introducing a metaphysical twist that drives the plot and helps keep the story interesting.
Cinematically it's a very professional production but didn't distinguish itself at any point. One scene did sadly suffer the 'repeat this one stunt four times from different angles in slow motion' so beloved of Asian cinema but most of the film avoided that trope and portrayed credible action scenes that added energy and delivered pay-offs for the slower conversational elements.
Where the film did disappoint was a specific fight scene, in which previously demonstrated skill, reflexes, agility and strength are abandoned for plot reasons. Sorry but that's lazy film making.
It's a shame, and it did damage the review score I've given, because much of the film was better than that, and because of that I can recommend it to people that aren't scared of subtitles (or indeed, speak the language of the actors).
In particular one scene early in the film caught me completely by surprise, and left me highly entertained. Innovation, excellent acting from Hsiao-chuan Chang and overall I'm happy I spent the time watching this.