This real-life crime drama is inspired by a brutal double murder in Hong Kong in 2013, when a 28-year-old man murdered and dismembered his parents. He cooked parts of their bodies in the microwave; police found the heads in a freezer. The case sparked a media frenzy; what’s interesting about The Sparring Partner is that the horrors of the case have been turned into a serious, cerebral, densely layered film. This is part stylish courtroom drama, relishing the intellectual sparring of the barristers. Behind the scenes we watch tense negotiations in the jury room. It’s also a whodunnit – presenting conflicting versions of the murders in flashback.
In fact, we know who the main culprit is almost from the start. After making a public appeal for help in finding his missing mum and dad, Henry (Yeung Wai-lun) soon confesses to their murder. He’s chillingly played here as a smirking, loathsome inadequate who longs for his moment of fame. (Though I could have lived without the silly, shallow scenes depicting his Hitler fantasies – dressed up in the uniform with a moustache.)
