A tense, psychologically fraught Korean noir. Didn't expect it to be this good, to be honest. A lot of reviews claim it's a mixed bag, and while I can see why, I'm glad some of the film's problems affected me a bit less. There's a lot to like here, especially regarding the film's controlled sense of impending doom, which reflects in its relentlessly gloomy atmosphere. Visuals and soundtrack are on point and effectively convey that emotionally heavy aura that Korean thrillers are known for.
The film's plot is almost classic noir but injected with numerous flashback sequences and designed to eventually transform into a slightly different, more direct type of thriller. It's all directed and acted in a natural way, if a bit heavy handed at times, with many nighttime scenes having an almost mystical look. Ryu Seung-ryong and Jang Dong-gun carry the story very well, with the former being a more complex, centered figure, while Jang is a more conventional devilish villain. Both of them are given enough screen time to appear more than just genre archetypes, especially Ryu's haunted character whose dreams and hallucinations take up a large part of the film. These lengthy sequences are one of the reasons why the film wasn't received very well, but while they weren't all that necessary, I felt that they added weight to Ryu's character that magnified the film's emotional climax.
There's also quite a bit of symbolism here, a lot of it obvious but mostly well handled. The whole film is dark, gloomy and filled with miserable people doing miserable things, and if that's your thing then you'll probably enjoy this film. I know it kept me glued to the screen absorbing every minute of its 2-hour runtime.
