More on Fake Beards

Fire of Conscience (Dante Lam, 2010)

Above, Leon Lai and the ostentatiously fake beard he wears throughout Fire of Conscience. The false donegal clings poorly to Lai's slightly pockmarked cheeks, but the real kicker is the moustache, an unnaturally-shaped sliver of hair spirit-gummed to his upper lip.

Further material for pseudopogonological studies: slapdash fake beards are nowadays largely the domain of supporting characters and cameo roles, so seeing a lead actor sport one throughout a film is a little disconcerting. Also: the beard seems to be restricting the movement of Lai's face, which is normally pretty expressive, giving him a perpetually glum expression; he looks like a man whose lower face is being strangled by a stubble-parasite. And: the presence of plenty of actors with real beards (unlike in, say, Landru, where everybody has a fake beard) leads to plenty of strange moments, such as a confrontation between Lai and a supporting player who sports a real beard similar to Lai's fake one; Lai, his face constricted, looks a little like the other man's waxwork double.