Chop Suey

Chop Suey begins with an appealing promise: Bruce Weber will treat its documentary framework as a route into character rather than an excuse for noise. The early chemistry between Jan Michael Vincent and Peter Johnson gives Chop Suey an immediate pulse. The story of Chop Suey begins from a specific pressure point: A homage to Bruce Weber's Favourite things, these being mixing film, photography and classic movies. By the end of its 1h 38m running time, the value of Chop Suey rests less on novelty than on the care of its execution.

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The plot of Chop Suey is built around the uneasy relationship between Bruce Weber's Favourite and the central character. For Jan Michael Vincent, that relationship gives Chop Suey an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Maribeth Edmonds lets an important relationship reshape the direction of Chop Suey in stages. Although the treatment of a difficult choice could be sharper, Chop Suey never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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The most useful technical choice in Chop Suey is carefully chosen testimony, because it helps the audience understand both space and mood. Just Blue Films Inc. frames Chop Suey through carefully chosen testimony without letting surface finish replace character. Drawing on its United States background, Chop Suey uses clear editorial organisation to give familiar material a more specific texture. Cinematography, sound and editing meet effectively in Chop Suey whenever a sequence must feel large without losing its human scale.

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Beneath its plot, Chop Suey is most interested in the tension between public stories and private experience. That concern becomes visible through Jan Michael Vincent, whose choices allow Chop Suey to explore an idea without stopping for a speech. Bruce Weber's Favourite gives the themes of Chop Suey a concrete dramatic form rather than leaving them abstract. The emotional value of Chop Suey grows whenever Bruce Weber trusts the audience to connect behaviour with the larger question.

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What keeps Chop Suey emotionally readable is Jan Michael Vincent, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Peter Johnson, Chop Suey gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Frances Faye contributes a separate rhythm to Chop Suey and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Bruce Weber gives the cast of Chop Suey room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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Bruce Weber gives Chop Suey a directorial line that is alive in individual scenes and uncertain between them from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of Chop Suey is strongest when Bruce Weber allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, Chop Suey confirms that the cast and craft keep the experience watchable across most of the running time. A tighter version of Chop Suey would address how too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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For viewers who enjoy thoughtful factual storytelling, Chop Suey is ultimately an uneven film with enough personality to remain interesting. Its most persuasive combination in Chop Suey brings Jan Michael Vincent together with clear editorial organisation under the direction of Bruce Weber. The fact that too many scenes explain effects the actors have already suggested prevents Chop Suey from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Chop Suey has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.