To be perfectly honest, I was skeptical about watching this because the poster looks like a seedy murder-mystery/romance set-up. Boy was I wrong about that.

For starters, Rainie's acting in this was amazing. Any story that requires an actor to fulfill more than one role and play it off well is a feat of its own, and she really managed to nail it. In fact, everyone played their roles so well that I felt genuinely depressed watching them grapple with their relationships, both with others as well as with themselves. Although the supporting characters were there to...well, support, they felt like real people you'd meet and talk to, rather than another forgettable prop in the grand scheme of things. The pacing and the story worked really well, and it didn't feel too long or too short. I finished it with a sense of satisfaction (and a bit of unease, because that means I'm going to have to be forced to reevaluate my own life now).

Riding off the relatively upbeat tones of Love of Sandstorm, I feel like Life Plan A and B just punched me in the face. There's a certain depth, complexity, and somberness that I feel like I'm starting to see become popular in Taiwanese cinema. It's that sincerity and that willingness to be vulnerable and thought-provoking that really had me watching it so intensely, even when it felt uncomfortable at times to do so. The lesson it teaches is one I'll surely take to heart.

*also rated the music an 8/10 because i oddly have no recollection whatsoever of the music at all. but i'm sure it was great.

(edited to lower the rating a bit after some thought bc it was a bit confusing to follow but i still enjoyed it a lot!)