Review of Oldboy (2003) by Manicure — 22 Nov 2020

"Oldboy" is a messed-up double revenge story that never holds back and takes risks over compromises. Instead of the slightly more realistic, social critique-oriented approach of "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance", Park Chan-Wook goes for an overly stylized, pulpy but elegant approach here, almost to retain some kind of connection with the Japanese manga the film is loosely based on. It feels silly and caricatural at first, but things get more and more engaging after you start connecting the dots and noticing how each shot is carefully constructed, how the action scenes are tastefully choreographed, how inventive ad original the mise-en-scene is every time. The mystery behind Dae-su's captivity is what drives the whole narrative, but the stylish visuals are enough alone to keep you engaged on multiple views.

The film also goes full crescendo in its last thirty minutes, offering some of the most intense and emotionally impactful endings yet. There are shocking twists and glimpses of grotesque violence here and there, but the elaborated cinematography suggests that it's not only about mere shock value. It's not a film for everyone, but aside a couple of convoluted plot points during the investigation, there is literally nothing I would fix.

About the final twist: I thought the film purposely hinted at Mi-do being Dae-su's daughter from the very beginning. My suspects started as soon as they ask each other if they had met somewhere before, but I kind of dropped the idea of it after they have sex. You wouldn't expect such a film to get that far. Even though the reveal wasn't a huge surprise, it was still unbearably painful to watch. Not to mention the way Dae-su decides to solve the problem.