The performances of the leads were very good. Bae Doo-na was the draw-card for me, and this the most complex character I have seen her play. The lesbian and immigrant worker sub-plots are interesting. The film didn't shy away from the shock and sensation of Doo-hee's self-harm, but empathised with her as well, an admirable combination. The denouement, staying with the chief, away from her father, was what Doo-hee deserved. Too often damaged characters in film are either not given any agency (they are innocent victims), or are not offered any redemption (they are crazy), but this film is not like that.
However, it does spend time in that clichéd territory. The film is boring after the chief gets locked up for child molestation. It was a predictable plot twist, but really not related to the main emotional action of the film. For the most part the film skillfully balanced exploitation of it's sexual themes with real emotional content, but this sensational hijack of the second half meant that when the ending finally came it felt underdeveloped, even though it was the ending the film needed.
Instead of this waste of time, more could have been put into the underdeveloped sub-plots. What there was of these was well done, but there just wasn't enough. The lesbian plot could stand as it is if the film was just shorter, but the illegal immigrant plot was tacked on. The rest of the film needed to fit around it more. I can't imagine how it could have done this, but it would have made for a much more interesting film.
Overall however, this film is well worth seeing.
However, it does spend time in that clichéd territory. The film is boring after the chief gets locked up for child molestation. It was a predictable plot twist, but really not related to the main emotional action of the film. For the most part the film skillfully balanced exploitation of it's sexual themes with real emotional content, but this sensational hijack of the second half meant that when the ending finally came it felt underdeveloped, even though it was the ending the film needed.
Instead of this waste of time, more could have been put into the underdeveloped sub-plots. What there was of these was well done, but there just wasn't enough. The lesbian plot could stand as it is if the film was just shorter, but the illegal immigrant plot was tacked on. The rest of the film needed to fit around it more. I can't imagine how it could have done this, but it would have made for a much more interesting film.
Overall however, this film is well worth seeing.