Conflict of interest alert! Heiward Mak’s Diva, about a Hong Kong singer (Joey Yung) who navigates the soul-draining arena of superstardom, was bankrolled by the Emperor Entertainment Group (EEG), the conglomerate behind the Twins, Jackie Chan’s The Medallion, a luxury jewelry store chain, and other interests. Given The Powers That Be, cynicism towards Diva is possible and even expected. How can EEG make a movie about the sordid reality of being a Heavenly Queen, especially when their pet Heavenly Queen is the star? Will the story of superstar singer J Yim draw parallels to the real life story of superstar singer Joey Yung? Can widely-reported filmmaking prodigy Heiward Mak make another studio film after Ex and still retain her precious artistic cred? And will EEG execs indict themselves as the skeevy, entitled slimes they’re often accused of being? The landmines here are endless.

The good news first: writer-director Mak airs plenty of the music industry’s dirty laundry, thereby thwarting some cynical expectations. The story of J Yim (Yung, natch) comes with its ugliness. Her manager Man Kin-Sun (Chapman To) is an entertaining snake who subtly shoves the competition under the bus in order to prop up his meal ticket. Also, the two-faced competition and packed schedule obviously take their toll on the relatively down-to-earth J. Meanwhile, Man’s new project Red (TVB singing sensation Mag Lam) is threatened with sexual assault by a scummy producer (Gallants director Clement Cheng), and is pulled in two directions by the slimy Man and jealous boyfriend Rocky (Carlos Chan). Another wannabe singer, Gennie (Venus Wong), has it even worse, performing sexual favors for a film director and acting as an escort for businessmen. Yep, Mak and company definitely acknowledge the entertainment industry’s dark side.

Unfortunately, fears that Diva will pull its punches are ultimately justified. The film neglects to feature an entity that could mirror EEG. For example, sexual impropriety is committed by independent contractors and nameless businessmen, not music label bigwigs. Record companies are never referenced, as J’s life and career seem to be the domain of independent manager Man, and that’s it. Man is free to enforce or cancel J’s contract as he sees fit – hey, you think the actual record company may have something to say about that? Also, Man is oddly portrayed as a stand-up, even self-effacing dude who can exploit his charges while still caring for them. The script serves Chapman To exceptionally well. Man is basically a lovable and unrealistic scoundrel, and the only reason the character convinces is because To delivers a smart and canny performance. Look past that, and it’s easy to see Man’s character is riddled with holes.

J’s character has problems too. As written, J is a talented and good young woman who’s suffering under the demands of her superstardom. She resists her duties only because she’s exhausted or wishes to nurture her relationship with blind masseuse Hu Ming, played with righteous dignity and unswerving decency by Hu Ge. Otherwise, J shies away from bad people and bad behavior, and will take Red under her wing instantly because, well, she’s just that awesome. If J is a diva then she’s the most benign one ever, and considering that Joey Yung’s image is everything to EEG, it’s likely that they exercised some story approval. Red is portrayed as pretty great, too; she questions stardom because she wants to be loyal to Rocky, and even when she realizes that it’s not all rainbows and puppies, she refuses to throw the industry under the bus. Yeah, music can be a bad biz, but in the world of Diva, there’s still a route to retain your integrity.

Mag Lam looks like a regular girl and not a manufactured idol, so it’s easy to believe that she’s the idealistic but pragmatic Red. Joey Yung is another story; never much of an actress, Yung is simply called upon to play herself here, which she does unremarkably and without the depth needed to really convince. It seems Diva may not be the story of a regular girl who becomes a superstar, but is instead a film about making a superstar look like a regular girl. EEG would surely like that spin, and who knows, maybe Joey really is just like J. If so, then Heiward Mak does a lousy job of selling J’s story as fact, as she relies on platitudes and plot twists standard to the “life of a superstar” story. There are potent moments, but too often Mak falls back on metaphorical monologues and hackneyed proclamations like “I’m a human!” to push audience buttons. These outcomes are too easy, and reduce characterization to easy, self-absorbed clichés.

Visually Diva earns its wings, and Mak has a knack for portraying Hong Kong spaces as far more inviting and attractive than they really are. The problem is that her scenes ultimately don’t complement one another, with the film saying many things separately but nothing as a whole. Musical sequences are either montage or energy-sapping second unit concert footage, and little is ever seen in the stars actually performing. If the love of music is one of J or Red’s supposed drives, it’s hard to tell because that message, like much in Diva, gets lost. Overall, it’s hard to figure out what Heiward Mak is trying to say, except perhaps that it’s tough being a talented, sensitive and in-demand young woman - like Heiward Mak, maybe? Mak’s debut High Noon showed confidence and verve, but both Ex and Diva flirt with self-absorption. Hopefully, with more time and personal experience, Mak’s work will one day match her still-evident promise. (Kozo, 2012)