Slick as a whistle

"I have worked with Xue for more than seven years. We understand each other quite well. She knows who I am and what kind of characters I am capable of playing," says Tang.

Shooting to fame with the blockbuster How Long Will I Love You and the phenomenal hit series The Longest Day in Chang'an, Lei says he was attracted to the script and the complex role depicting the struggle between his family and his past, which offered him space to act.

However, even with its stellar cast and an established director, the movie has appeared not to have lived up to the expectations of many.

Opening on a competitive Friday facing off two powerful rivals, Hollywood blockbuster Jumanji 2: The Next Level, and Cannes-nominated film The Wild Goose Lake, Xue's big-budget thriller had grossed just 49 million yuan ($6.99 million) as of Wednesday.

And its ratings on popular review sites also fell short, garnering 6 points out of 10 on Douban and 6.9 points out of 10 on Mtime.

It also received some controversial feedback, with viewers commenting that the plotline of the story, which runs for 139 minutes, lacked coherence and credibility, while other criticized the movie for failing to take a moral stance on the subject of infidelity.