Review of A Hard Day (2014) by Ben S — 27 Oct 2014

To say detective Ko Gun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun) is having a hard day is putting it mildly. In the opening movements of this jet black comedy of errors we witness him driving back from his mother?s funeral, run over and kill a pedestrian, attempt to conceal the body, get pulled over for drunk driving, and discover his unit is under investigation by internal affairs. This captivating structure of jumping from frying pans into fires sustains Kim Seong-hung?s A Hard Day for the majority of its running time, before giving way to complete and utter bloody madness in the final act.

In the standout scene, Kim Seong-hung is able to strike the perfect balance of humour and tension as, with the aid of some balloons and a toy soldier, Ko attempts to hurriedly dispose of the corpse by placing it inside the same casket as his recently deceased mother. It?s an absolutely faultless composition full of sweaty nerves and inappropriate laughs, immaculately punch-lined with a ringing phone from inside the coffin. Unfortunately, not everything works as well as this, occasionally wandering too deeply into run-of-the-mill police procedural territory as it struggles to maintain the cracking pace and overlapping nightmares of the set-up.

As one problem is solved another materialises. The pedestrian turns out to be a key figure in an ongoing investigation, and Ko receives a call from a witness to his accident who begins a process of blackmail and intimidation. There is a gleeful perverted delight in every new twist and turn that befalls the homicide detective. Haunted by the buzzing of ?Unknown Caller? on his phone, Lee Sun-kyun has the kind of face you expect to do an exasperated Oliver Hardy turn to the camera.

A conflict in tone exists throughout: the considered cinematography looks the part of other great Korean noirs, and the film revels in all the tensions and mysteries of a fraught whodunnit; simultaneously it strives to be let off the chain and run wild as a black comedy. The generic elements at play are the least interesting, so although the tautly paced thriller racks the nerves and the intermittent violence ferociously breaks bones, Kim Seong-hung is never fully committed to the intricately devised narrative. Secondary characters are sketched in when required, and nonsensical contrivances abound in the rangy climax. To all intents and purposes this is two films pursuing each other along Korean highways and back alleys. I was rooting for the one with a sense of humour.