Director Liao Ming-yi must have had a good feeling when he came up with the idea for I WeirDo. A story about a super fastidious young man who isolates himself because of his condition meets a female with a similar condition masked, gloved, and sporting a knee-length rain slicker. It's as if Liao predicted the pandemic and foresaw living in isolation and dating in a world where first encounters are hermetically sealed.
Chen Po-ching (Austin Lin) is obsessive-compulsive. He washes his hands and cleans his apartment constantly. Meals for the week are prepared ahead of time placed in sealed containers.He works at home never going to the office or seeing his co-workers .On the 15th of the month, he piles on the P.P.E. venturing out to pay bills grocery shop and more importantly obtain a fresh supply of cleaning products. He gets on the subway standing as always fully protected. He spots a female Chen Ching (Nikki Hsieh) clad in a similar manner who gets off at the same stop apparently headed the same direction. Chen follows as she enters his grocery store. He continues to watch her as she counts boxes of chocolates in the candy isle then steals one. Incensed Chen confronts Chen Ching who turns the tables and threatens him. Chen now completely out of his routine goes back to the grocery store the next day. Chen Ching is there thinking that he will turn her in. They part ways Chen under an imposed deadline for their next contact.
Liao shot and edited the film in its entirety on an iPhone XS Max. The use of basic colours is a key feature of the film as part of Chen's OCD compulsion is the need to coordinate them. Liao must have thought his story was about too oddballs (weirdo is in the title) that few could relate to but instead with the onset of COVID-19 hand washing, wearing masks, constant cleaning, and staying home is everyone's reality.
The pair that seem to be the ultimate soulmates suffer a crack when Chen becomes fixated on pigeon outside his window. He is drawn outside to it and like that his OCD is gone. Liao cleverly gives this change a visual marker by expanding the field of view from portrait to full screen. The group of doctors that the couple used to go to to try and find a cure for their ailments are now consulted to bring Chen's back. Obviously small habits that differ in partners can cause a strain on a relationship with Chen's OCD gone Chen and Chen Ching are now diametrically opposed.
IWeirDo is a fitting meet-cute/ romantic comedy for the COVID -19 era. Liao Ming -yi's tale about two people on the fringes turns out to be a bullseye centre-cut portrayal of people's experiences today. Anchored by Austin Lin's Chen naive protagonist and Nikki Hsieh's bolder Chen Ching surrounded by an array of basic colours visuals Liao has produced an innovative piece of film making that should find mainstream appeal as it represents a shared experience for us all.
***1/2 Out of Four.
IWeirDo | Liao Ming-yi | Taiwan | 2020 | 100 minutes.
Tags: iPhone XS Max, OCD, Doctor's Appointments, Shopping, Kleptomaniac, Skin Rash, Meet-Cute, Portrait, Landscape, P.P.E., Primary Colours.
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