I thought the idea of using the twin brothers to interject mystery and suspense into the plot would make this a very interesting movie. In theory, it was interesting and could have worked; in reality, for me, it did not work at all. The idea that each one at different times was in a coma just seemed way too contrived, as did other elements of the movie -- the announcement over the intercom in the hospital describing the musical piece about a woman falling in love with her husband's brother, the ending, etc.
It's also implausible that Jin-Woo could have been able to hide his limp (or his weight loss) when he was pretending to be his brother during Yeon's visit (when she came to see Jin-Ho and ended up having sex with him (Jin-Woo), thinking she was having sex with Jin-Ho). And SHE ends up angry at her husband after she's screwing who she thinks is her brother-in-law? Please. And who is SHE to judge her mother or anyone else for that matter? No sympathy/empathy for her whatsoever, and that's always a bad thing when it comes to a movie's lead/protagonist.
I also felt that the cutting of this film as well as some of the acting was mediocre. It felt more like a melodrama/soap opera than a true drama. Less than halfway through the movie I honestly didn't care which brother was which, or how things turned out. The brothers were deceitful; Yeon was deceitful. And frankly I'm getting really tired of films about cheating spouses that fail to evoke any empathy for the main character(s).
And the ending was just flat out ridiculous. Clearly, the writer(s) and director were at a loss as far as how to end the film, and decided on a cheap "twist" to tie everything together. But as often happens in those instances, rather than tying everything together, it causes everything to fall apart/unravel. Secret Lover is not the worst Korean film I've seen, but it's clearly not the best either.
It's also implausible that Jin-Woo could have been able to hide his limp (or his weight loss) when he was pretending to be his brother during Yeon's visit (when she came to see Jin-Ho and ended up having sex with him (Jin-Woo), thinking she was having sex with Jin-Ho). And SHE ends up angry at her husband after she's screwing who she thinks is her brother-in-law? Please. And who is SHE to judge her mother or anyone else for that matter? No sympathy/empathy for her whatsoever, and that's always a bad thing when it comes to a movie's lead/protagonist.
I also felt that the cutting of this film as well as some of the acting was mediocre. It felt more like a melodrama/soap opera than a true drama. Less than halfway through the movie I honestly didn't care which brother was which, or how things turned out. The brothers were deceitful; Yeon was deceitful. And frankly I'm getting really tired of films about cheating spouses that fail to evoke any empathy for the main character(s).
And the ending was just flat out ridiculous. Clearly, the writer(s) and director were at a loss as far as how to end the film, and decided on a cheap "twist" to tie everything together. But as often happens in those instances, rather than tying everything together, it causes everything to fall apart/unravel. Secret Lover is not the worst Korean film I've seen, but it's clearly not the best either.