The key word is 'Sympathy'
in Chan-Wook Park's
flawed but interesting
vengeance thriller.
(Is this the least holiday-related thing I could review? Possibly)
Chan-Wook Park's 'Vengeance trilogy' is perhaps the most beloved creation in all of South Korean cinema for Western audiences. The first installment of the trilogy is not only the origin of Park's iconic trilogy, but also the most obscure entry for Western cinema lovers. I feel I must explain my perspective before I continue this review, Chan-Wook Park is among my favorite directors of all time. I have currently seen three of his films, excluding the film in question, and have absolutely adored all of them (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, Stoker). In fact I consider Oldboy to be a contender for my all-time favourite movie. So there's my perspective, I saw Mr. Vengeance after these three films and knew little about it going in.
Overall, I view Mr. Vengeance as an inferior prelude to the rest of the trilogy. It is rough and flawed when compared to the director's later work, however it contains many fascinating ideas and it is interesting to see where the ideas which would go on to form the basis for some of my all time favorite began.
The key word in the film's title is 'Sympathy'. The film's greatest achievement is how it is able to create sympathy for characters despite the deplorable actions they perform. The film focuses more on the motivation and reasoning behind these horrible actions rather than the acts themselves, shifting the tone into character study rather than action-thriller (ironically the genre which Oldboy more closely fit). All three of our primary actors are fantastic. Ha-kyun Shin portrays a desperate man simply trying to do what he thinks is right for the people around him perfectly, and special credit must be given to him for also successfully portraying a deaf man. His inflections and actions all seem fitting and natural for a deaf person, and his confusion and disorientation as caused by the disability is well portrayed. This even more impressive when considered that the role is delivered without any dialogue, certainly an impressive performance. Kang-ho Song is also fantastic, showing both moving sadness and inspiring strength in his role as a beraved father, justifiably trying to avenge a grave injustice which has been committed upon him. Finally Doona Bae delivers perhaps the standout performance of the film. Showing both cruel and manipulative cunning, and an enjoyable strength of will. A really enjoyable portrayal, and also showing a clear inspiration for some of the performances in future Park films (this is also true of Kang-ho Song, who clearly laid the groundwork for the lead performance of Oldboy).
The cinematography and set design of Mr. Vengeance is also quite strong. Some very nice outdoor locations and a generally less urban feel, gives the film a unique visual identity within the Vengeance trilogy. The very pretty Korean scenery and suburban setting evokes childhood, a key theme and motif of the film itself. Some very clever angles and a fluid style keeps the film visually engaging, and I was overall very impressed by the camerawork. Byeong-il Kim deserves geat praise for the films look.
The film's great flaws mainly come in the form of unevenness. The tone can be wildly inconsistent , ranging form dark-humor to horrible violence in rapid succession. When compared to Miller's Crossing, another film which shifted tone frequently, the tone feels very erratic and unfocused, with poor forethought being given to how the tone of one scene affects the others. In addition, the film can be quite difficult to follow, even when compared to Park's other complex plots. A combination of the foreign language, the rapid pace and the scatterbrain tone prevents the film from adequately conveying the plot to the audience, or at least me. In addition particular plot elements seem to go for long periods without mention, before being brought up again almost without any buildup (the worst offender here is a plotpoint involving blackmarket Organ traffickers).
In conclusion, I did enjoy Mr. Vengeance. It was a mostly successful character-thriller and kept me invested throughout. However it is a rough and uneven outing from Park, and some of it's concepts would be re-purposed into better and more complete films after this one.
By Jack D. Phillips
A Zoom Film Review
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