I'm a person of nostalgia. When I read some netizens talked about The Greed Man online, it brought my memory back to the old days, even if I'm not old at all. I can't remember how old I was when I watched that drama for the first time. There was no question that Damian Lau impressed me the most among all the other actors and actress. He was given performance only in 6 episodes out of 40, but his acting was competent and unforgettable. Even though a long time has elapsed, some scenes about him were clearly imprinted on my mind: his gaze, his high spirit, he was at the peak of his career and he was beaten to death by Adam Cheng. How many girls had heart-broken in front of the TV screen.
After two decades, the young actor has become a veteran. Damian Lau played a leading role in Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles. It aired two years ago. Because of The Greed Man, and because of Damian Lau, I have watched the drama recently. Damian's performance was magnificent as always. However, the plotline is rather unexpected. I thought Sir Arthur would be critical, but he is almost flawless, except the number of wives and love affairs; I thought there are something unfortunate would happen on Arthur or the family, such as Jimmy could be the trigger cause the family collapse, but everything goes well, except his first wife dies; I thought the former princess's childhood sweetheart would come for a revenge, but he is the one suffers the most. All in all, there are no absolute villains. It reminds me of how Simon Cowell commented on a singer's talent--it's like I'm having Chinese meals, it's really delicious, but I don't feel full.
Damian Lau, at the age of 60+, he's still charming. I reckon if he was ten years younger, it would have been more suitable for him to play this role. Sir Arthur himself is close to perfect, at least to me. He is a man of great charm, he's well educated, he has a decent job and he's wealthy. Besides, he is a compassionate boss, he puts family as priority, he is attentive to his wives, he is supportive to his sons, he pampers his daughter and he sympathizes the poor. What can you complain about this person? Yes, he's arrogant, aggressive and autocratic, but who doesn't?
I like watching how Arhur interacts with his eldest daughter. He listens her little secrets, she tells him everything, she cries in his arms when she suffers a heartbreak of losing her beloved boy. He told his wives that seeing women crying is hateful, but he let his daughter crying in his arms. When I'm seeing he pats on the daughter's back with helplessness shown on his face, my heart is melted down. Who's lucky enough to have a Daddy like this.
I also like watching the relationship between Arthur and his second wife, it shows a great intensity and feeling. When he is in love with her, he tolerates her willfulness and headstrong, he dedicates ten years time just wants to win her heart. However, envy and revenge takes over his love, he becomes the most cruellest person to her. It brought up feminism. Women should be able to file an action for divorce. In addition, long, long ago is very impressive.
Now I'd like to talk about the other side of the coin. I'm not criticizing it, but I think there are something missing in the structure and script of the drama. It lacks of details, some parts are rather ambiguous, the storyline doesn't really match the title Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles. For example, if a book writer wants to describe a place, he needs to point out, what the furniture is made of, the sofa armrests are god gilded, etc. He can't just simply say 'they lives in a mansion', it doesn't work. TV dramas use slates and stories to depict a scene. I understand the director wants to tell the audiences how rich the family is, but it should let audiences find it from the plot, not from the dialogue. It should show more about their life, and give close shots to food, daily expenses or socializing. Downton Abbey is very good at it.
Sterling shackles refers constraint, I think the shackles are not only worn on females in the house, but also on males, even on the master of the house Arthur. Sir Arthur's background and social status are admired by people around him, but he is not living in a happy life as outsiders thought. He's aggressive, confused and guilty. He drinks a lot, and smokes a lot, he spends money on women of the streets, but he doesn't bought happiness in return. The character of Arthur is fully developed and depicted, however the rest of the characters lack of comparison. It proves that Downton Abbey has a whirlwind success globally is reasonable. The former one is epic, the latter one is a soap opera.
In conclusion, I'm insane, I've loads of works behind me, but I'm writing on this nonsense.
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