Binge Or Cringe: 'Why Try to Change Me Now' Is A Confused Crime Drama Not Worth Investigating
Misdirection and nostalgia characterize the bulk of modern crime dramas that attempt to replicate classic film noir tropes without introspection. As a result, these series often forgoe their themes and result in gritty, neo-noir pastiches that fail to pay homage to the original genre. Why Try To Change Me Now is more coming-of-age drama than crime drama, leaving its moody, melodramatic world confused with no direction. Based on Shuang Xuetao’s novel Moses on the Plain, the series interchangeably jumps across time periods and tells a destructive love story amidst a murder mystery backdrop. Beyond its beautiful cinematography and ethereal jazz soundtrack, Why Try To Change Me, like its characters, seems lost in between two worlds. It wants to highlight the anxieties of a generation consumed by material industrialization while telling a dark tale. Ultimately, it excels in the former and fails in the latter.
Meet Zhuang Shu
Set in the 80s, Zhuang Shu (Dong Zijian) is a violent, troubled kid looking to stay young forever. His childhood friend, Li Fei (Qiu Tian), excels in academics yet yearns for a career in the arts. She is mentored by Shu’s mother, Fu Dongxin (Hai Qing), whose art and literature aspirations were stifled when she married Zhuang Dezeng (Dong Baoshi), a factory worker avoiding his paternal responsibilities in order to make ends meet. Despondent imagery of working-class families riddles the series as they sulk in a state of lovelessness, working for themselves rather than each other. As decades pass, a pensive desire for acceptance accumulates within this increasingly reserved society, and Shu is no exception. In 2003, Shu works as a police officer on the murder that inadvertently separated him from Fei nine years prior. Now in his late twenties, he struggles to detach from his misanthropic youth and find a sense of purpose. Watching him work through his inner struggles is tear jerking thanks to Zijian’s stellar performance. Conversely, Fei loses her childhood optimism, emboldened by ideals of escapism as she desires to live anew in Mongolia. The cast provides amazing performances throughout, which become hindered by its jarring narrative shift to unfocused murder solving plotlines.
Characters feel incredibly passive when the gears shift as they have no real stake in the narrative; violence simply occurs without their input and eliminates any risk or suspense. Oftentimes, the main story feels secondary to the series’ slice-of-life moments. Additionally, while the final episode establishes a wonderful blend of serenity and anxiety, not until four episodes in do characters become actively involved in the primary storyline. As events unfold, characters lack narrative purpose until the final episode, resulting in a spontaneous, underwritten, and underwhelming climax. The series winds up so hyper focused in its central storyline that it forgets to include its characters in the action, ultimately burying all cultivated character progression.
The characters are colorful yet hopelessly melancholic, and their contradictory states remain omnipresent as they each aspire to become unattainable versions of themselves. The series is beautiful, oftentimes poetic, yet entirely confused about its overarching genre. On one hand, it presents an introspective look into the growing pains of society at the turn-of-the-millennium, and on the other, a static murder mystery. Why Try To Change Me portrays the effects of industrialization on impoverished communities while attempting an atmospheric, detective-style narrative; ultimately, it loses its focus, lost between two vastly different worlds.
Was It Binge Or Cringe?
The series becomes disjointed as it shifts from a character-heavy coming-of-age story to a gritty murder crime drama. Despite the heavy topic, the series maintains its subdued tone throughout, leaving action scenes with no urgency, and interrogation scenes without suspense. Episodes average 70 minutes, but the series doesn’t effectively utilize its runtime to build up drama and interweaving storylines. Instead, it meanders around its characters by showcasing the mundane: characters walking places, sitting down, and even shots composed entirely of scenery. It’s an arduous task to sit through, especially when the dialogue doesn’t contain much substance. Incredibly loose writing results in characters talking without any direction or purpose. In a way, it presents characters as people, and it's refreshing to see their personalities stand out, but it doesn’t mesh with action-oriented scenes. It removes the looming presence of a killer living among them, which leaves the series inconsistent between its tone and presentation. However, the show’s cinematography is wonderful, and the brooding jazz soundtrack amplifies the tone exponentially, even when the series struggles to keep it consistent. Hidden underneath an uninspired detective storyline, Why Try To Change Me presents a beautiful story of a troubled teen battling the economic hardships of his environment.
Its elegant cinematography, lovely soundtrack, and evocative character arcs make Why Try To Change Me an amazing coming-of-age story, but it will leave crime aficionados incredibly disappointed. Stuck between desiring escape and living in a society inhibiting their freedom, characters seem painfully real. However, the series loses its identity as it meshes this sincerity with violence to muddling effects. Shu and Fei are emblematic of a society dominated by material consumption. Yet, Why Try To Change Me offers little drama, resulting in a crime drama scared to unveil its potential.
Who Will Like It?
Fans of crime will be heavily disappointed with the slow, monotonous route of Why Try To Change Me, while fans of coming-of-age stories may find enjoyment beyond its messy crime narrative. It wants to pay homage to classic 60s noir films yet loses its footing, accidentally telling a depressing story about a society trying to find hope in a loveless world. The series is confused and tedious, yet beautiful when it wants to be, and it perfectly encapsulates the struggle of wanting to improve oneself. All six episodes of Why Try To Change Me can be streamed on iQIYI.