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The Handmaiden
The Handmaiden
Starring: Min-hee Kim, Tae-ri Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jing-woong Jo, Hae-suk Kim, So-ri Moon
Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
2016
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a wealthy Japanese heiress and secretly plots to steal her fortune.
Review:
Tim: I had no idea what to expect when I sat down with Chan-wook Park's The Handmaiden. I loved his Oldboy, but hadn't seen a ton of his other films. Similar to that movie, I left this one blown away by the intelligence, the shocking twists and turns, the adult subject matter and the unforgettable sequences. Park is able to create something very unlike most of the movies we see today. I was pleasantly surprised by how crazy and entertaining this film was- I certainly consider it a great film.
The movie starts out fairly straightforward, and for a long time, it felt like I had a clear grasp on what was happening. A woman partners with a thief to defraud an heiress. The story is focused and clear. And yet, while we're watching this storyline, there's so much happening in the margins, so many clues that something else is happening that we're not totally aware of- and I picked up on none of those clues. I was definitely focused on the main story presented because it's interesting and dramatic and full of tension. And it's entertaining. And watching it, I thought I was watching a really good movie. And at a certain point, the rug gets pulled out from under us and I literally sat up in my seat. I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing on screen. It didn't make sense with what I believed about the movie and the characters. And then we slowly pierce together the truth of the story and it's very different than what we originally expected. It's a challenging, sexually charged, unexpected roller coaster of a film. It presents complex, fascinating characters and proceeds to deliver a surprising, unforgettable story. While the script is incredible, I have to give Park so much credit for how he handled every sequence of the film. This is a really long movie (almost two and a half hours long), but there's so much here that it only rarely feels as long as it is. This is an exceptionally well directed movie and Park deserves so much credit.
The cast he assembles is very strong. Tae-ri Kim was spectacular as Sook-Hee. She exudes this youthful innocence while at the same time, being flawed with an underlying complexity to her character. Min-hee Kim was strong, too, although I didn't love her performance as much. Still, she interacts well with the rest of the cast. Jung-woo Ha was mostly very strong- while there were a few moments where I didn't quite believe his performance, there are so many others where he's remarkable. Jin-woong Jo was odd and disturbing and it was fun to watch. What I liked most about this cast wasn't their individual performances, but how they interacted with each other. Their interactions were so different depending on who was in the room- when they were one-on-one or with a larger group. I loved watching the different relationship dynamics and how it would change the demeanor of each of the characters. It required a great deal of range from the cast and they all delivered. It's fascinating to watch the movie with that in mind.
The Handmaiden is an example of how a director can elevate a story and make it great. Yes, the story is fascinating and unexpected, and yes, the cast is quite strong- but really, it was Chan-wook Park who took all those elements and crafted a truly impressive movie. I would never have expected this movie would reach the heights it did, but it's absolutely one of the best movies of 2016. Park is truly a director to keep an eye on- he's fast approaching "must watch" status for anything he does.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 8
If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Oldboy