The film focuses on traditional romantic and sexual tensions between male and female leads. It lacks non-cisnormative identities or narratives that critique heteronormativity, adhering instead to established genre tropes.

Women are often aestheticized through a lens of tragic obsession, which can lean toward objectification. However, they also emerge as figures of significant emotional power and agency within their own obsessions.

The film provides a robust depiction of a predominantly Chinese cast, reclaiming the historical narrative of 1930s Shanghai. This authentic casting avoids the Western gaze often found in period pieces.

The narrative leans into moral relativism and the subjective experiences of the leisure class. It avoids framing Western institutions as oppressive, focusing instead on personal desire and postmodern sensibilities.

There are no significant depictions of visible or invisible disabilities within the narrative.