Review of Mother (2010) by Nesbitt10 — 08 Aug 2013

"Mother" is an alluring piece of work, an artful mystery that melds clever plotting with resourceful camera work, with sympathetic characters that are fascinatingly morbid. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho follows his monster extravaganza "The Host" (2006), in firm control of his medium in a different genre, proving once again that conventions need not always confine.

After a night of drinking and waiting for his long time friend, Do-joon (Won Bin), finds himself in some serious trouble. The next morning, he is accused of murdering a young woman on his way home from the bar, and he has no recollection of whether or not he did. The case has enough evidence to be closed quickly, but his mother, played by Kim Hye-ja, refuses to believe that her son could do such a thing. So she pushes forward, not accepting what the police have pieced together, and starts her own investigation to find the real killer, and free her son.

The film is a labyrinthine and cleverly deceptive, and not in a way we might anticipate. Long after a conventional thriller would have its destination in plain sight, "Mother" is still penetrating our assumptions. There are twists are aplenty, and deductions achieved too easily are simply the result of contrived clues and convenient witness testimony. "Mother" delights in confounding viewer expectations. In fact, just when you think it's over, a couple more developments still remain.

The film progresses with remarkable clarity, while drawing surprise and suspense from unexpected places. It's director Joon-ho Bong's unique style of old and modern approaches to filmmaking his stylistic and subtle ability to weave this story, and employing a witty use of dark humor throughout is what makes this film so impressive. "Mother" slowly burns its way towards revelations and depths of a character's soul that most dramatic thrillers shy away from.

The most surprising aspect of "Mother" is how differently it begins, and from that, what it becomes. Unique and utterly compelling in its entirety, "Mother" concludes in a manner that solves all (or nearly all) outstanding riddles. "Mother" deftly weaves a story about mother's love into a mystery thriller that will keep you guessing every step of the way.