DATUK Yusof Haslam’s youngest son Syafiq debuts with a bang in this action-packed thriller about a possessive lover.
The RM1.9 million film is Skop Productions’ 29th to hit the big screen.
Shaheizy Sam plays Sam Nasir, a manager of a printing company who is going steady with his assistant Lisa (Lisa Surihani). The duo are madly in love and are liked by Sam’s superior (Harun Salim Bachik).
However, all is not well as Lisa is also being wooed by two other colleagues, her ex-boyfriend Jeffri (Syamsul Yusuf) and tardy executive Haikal (Azad Jazmin).
Haikal is obsessed with Lisa, and vows to kill Sam, who is hot-tempered and possessive of his girlfriend. One day, Haikal is fired after assaulting Sam in the office. He becomes crazier and there’s a scene showing him sharpening his knife and slashing photos of Sam and Lisa.
On the other hand, Sam becomes paranoid and gets strange dreams that a stalker is after him and Lisa. His nightmares eventually come true when he and Lisa are kidnapped by a masked man.
Alerted by their boss, Jeffri and Haikal search for Sam and Lisa and find them in an old printing plant.
Saya Amat Mencintaimu is right up the alley of its main actors, and they execute their respective roles with gusto.
Shaheizy always excels playing tortured souls desperate for love (as in 8 Jam a month earlier) and it gives me goosebumps to see him transform from a jovial guy into a paranoid man.
Lisa gives her character strength and vulnerability, and throughout the movie, viewers easily root for her and Sam.
While she normally plays serious women, in this film she lets loose more, and does a crazy hip-hop sequence with Sam in his car.
Syamsul’s Jeffri is vintage brawn-and-brains, the kind of character he mostly portrays. While it works with fans, it is time he moves on to more varied roles, which he is more than capable of, for example as a nerdy, rich kid in Aku Bukan Tomboy, another collaboration with Shaheizy.
The real breakthrough role is Azad, who is normally associated with comedy on TV and cinema (he was with Shaheizy in Ngangkung). His Haikal is menacingly creepy, with facial expressions and a slurred speech which make him despicable and cowardly.
Fimie Don is also great as the young Sam, whose parents, brilliantly played by veterans Mubarak Majid and Lydiawati, die in tragic circumstances. Fimie is the teen star to watch, having excelled in Magika alongside Diana Danielle and Mawi.
Neelofa, who is popular eye candy, does not disappoint as Lisa’s housemate Zura (a tribute to her portrayal of the title role in Aziz M Osman’s Azura). However, it is high time she goes beyond bombshells and the girl-next-door roles.
Harun is credible as Sam’s kindly managing director as is longtime Skop collaborator Zulkifli Ismail of Gerak Khas fame in a cameo as Sam’s doctor.
Syafiq’s cinematography is superb — he has chosen the colourful I-City in Shah Alam for Lisa and Sam to enjoy a night out and the New Straits Times’ Balai Berita in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur for the climatic, Matrix-style fight scene involving Sam, Haikal, Jeffri and the mysterious kidnapper.
Like other Skop movies, Saya Amat Mencintaimu carries an important social message, and this time, it is respect for co-workers.
Child abuse and school bullying are also highlighted, and these have a hand in making the mystery stalker the man he is.
Syafiq, who earlier directed the moving music video of veteran singer Datuk D J Dave’s new hit song Nyawaku, has passed his first major examination with flying colours, and here’s looking forward to seeing him soar.
COMING SOON
SAYA AMAT MENCINTAIMU
Directed by Syafiq Yusof
Starring Shaheizy Sam, Lisa Surihani, Syamsul Yusof, Azad Jazmin, Neelofa, Fimie Don, Harun Salim Bachik, Lydiawati, Mubarak Majid, Zulkifli Ismail
Duration 90 minutes
Rating 18
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