Winky Lai’s Emotional Range in “Happy Ever After?”
Showcasing plotlines from different characters in a refreshing narration, Happily Ever After <婚後事> had viewers hooked with its exploration of the complicated adult world of marriage and relationships. Aired on March 7, the second half of episode 9 focused on Gina (Winki Lai 賴慰玲) with the theme “A fitting withdrawal”.
Gina: The Third Party in Any Relationship is the One Who’s Unloved
Finding herself unable to tolerate the special place that Emma (Yoyo Chen 陳自瑤) has in her beau Davey’s (Lai Lok Yi 黎諾懿) heart, Gina now finds that all his praises, generous gifts and thoughtfulness towards her are but compensatory moves. Planning to restart afresh in Japan with him, she is dumbfounded on realizing that the business she has been managing in Japan all along was actually the fruition of Emma’s ambition — thus deciding to steel her heart to leave Davey for good, so he would never forget her; while rationalizing that it is the only way she could score a victory against Emma.
Winning praise for nailing the conflicting emotional state of her character in a short but pivotal scene, where she also echoes daring romantic viewpoints as the director’s mouthpiece, Winki had to deliver sweet words despite the sorrow and devastation in her eyes. Visiting Yoyo (Emma) for the final time, she put up a strong front and pretended to be magnanimous in the relationship, while undeniably hurt and yet refusing to lose, all within the short parting speech of two and a half minutes.
3 Takes To Nail the Scene
Recounting how she took three takes to complete the scene successfully, Winki said, “I was screaming during the first take as I was formally parting with my loved one while playing strong in front of my “love rival”, I didn’t want to reveal too much and yet was heartbroken. During the 2nd take I told myself not to scream but did it anyway. So during Take 3, I reminded myself that I must really refrain, which is how I managed to repress my tumultuous emotions while the tears were welling up in my eyes, this was really an awesome experience for an actor, while this mode of “screaming” is also closer to real life,”
On her character’s feelings of loneliness, the actress reflects, “Precisely because (she) has to act as if she has everything under control, the way she delivered her emotions is very subdued and restrained. This is so realistic, everyone (might) have something to scream about but has to rein it in,”
Source: Mingpao
Winky’s acting abilities were obvious since she started in Veins. Yoyo is 42 and Winky 37 and they both already won best support actress and Yoyo actually entered the industry earlier than Winky too so I do believe Winky is a natural in that sense. What Yoyo has over Winky is a pretty face and a fit and curvy body. Also, Winky does not get a lot of press because her married life is stable & healthy