It is close to inconceivable to look at Resolution To Go away with out reminiscences of Primary Intuition ice-picking their method into your thoughts. The movie could also be set in misty South Korea as an alternative of foggy San Francisco, however current and proper is a rumpled, obsessive police detective, plus an enigmatic, mesmerising feminine suspect who may simply be kill-crazy. Sure, that is an erotic cop thriller. Thankfully, although, it’s a Park Chan-wook erotic cop thriller. So, in addition to there being zero dance-offs in naff jumpers, the tip result’s a stunningly shot, cleverly orchestrated and psychologically nimble story, which single-handedly revitalises one of many hoariest subgenres of all.
Park Hae-il is terrific as lead character Hae-joon, an investigator whose face droops with weariness and paperwork-induced ennui. Returning residence every night for a sleepless evening, to lie in mattress subsequent to a spouse who views intercourse as a well being profit (“We have to do it each week,” she informs him post-coitus, “even after we hate one another”), he solely begins to spark again to life when Web optimization-rae (Tang Wei) winds up in his interrogation room. But it surely’s Tang who saunters away with the movie. Taking part in a live-wire strolling query mark, flitting language-wise between Korean and her native Chinese language, and vibe-wise between softness and menace, the Lust, Warning star casts as a lot of a spell over the digital camera as Web optimization-rae does over Hae-joon. The ensuing pas de deux is hypnotic, the pair circling one another slowly, in an entanglement that’s half homicide investigation, half swooning romance — loads of lust and no warning — seemingly headed nowhere good.
Park’s on the high of his sport right here technically, using exact enhancing and audaciously ingenious camerawork to tug us into his characters’ minds.
By director Park’s regular requirements, that is dialled-down stuff. There are not any octopus tentacles writhing out of human mouths (Oldboy), no glimpses of sadistic pornography (The Handmaiden), no vampires shrieking as they burst into flames (Thirst). What flashes of intercourse and violence the movie has are transient and ungaudy: a glimpse of Web optimization-rae’s thigh as she lifts her gown to indicate Hae-joon an damage, a brawl with a runaway suspect (chainmail gloves, it appears, are standard-issue police tools in South Korea). But it surely seems that Park doesn’t want wild extra to make a murder-mystery compelling. He’s on the high of his sport right here technically, using exact enhancing and audaciously ingenious camerawork to tug us into his characters’ minds. As Hae-joon loses his emotional bearings, his yearnings start to bleed into the visuals, fantasies blurring into actuality, the detective showing in frames the place he shouldn’t be. There’s additionally a really good shot from inside a smartphone. It’s a masterclass in subjective storytelling.
The plot, which revolves closely round apps and phone-screens, requires numerous focus. And in comparison with the powerhouse first hour and crackerjack ending, the center part often feels dishevelled. But it surely’s nonetheless an incredible shot of pure Park — suave, subtle and horny. To not point out very presumably one of the best erotic cop thriller ever. Sorry, Sharon and Michael.
