Bluebeard

A meek, newly-divorced doctor starting over as a junior staff physician at a clinic that serves a largely elderly population becomes the unwitting witness to what appears to be a confession to a series of unsolved serial killings by an old man under sedation. Dr. Byun Seung-hoon (Jo Jin-woong), who is already suffering from depression, grows increasingly paranoid because the old man is the father of his landlord, an amiable butcher whose shop just may be hiding evidence of murder. When the butcher's wife suddenly goes on a trip and his own ex-wife disappears after visiting, Byun is determined to find evidence of crimes. But what appears to be a serial killer mystery shifts into psychodrama as viewers question the increasingly unstable hero's point of view when other witnesses chime in with contradictory stories. This is the second feature from South Korean filmmaker Lee Soo-youn (and her first in over a decade), who creates an effective atmosphere of mystery and suspicion that shifts throughout the story. It's a film full of surprises and revelations that constantly reframe the perspective, but it also explores, however obliquely, issues of status, success, and self-image that plague the doctor. Unfortunately, Bluebeard is also overlong and overburdened with narrative twists, blurring the border between nightmare and reality (the only scenes viewers can fully trust are two caught on surveillance video) while leaving some questions hanging. An interesting if also uneven thriller, this is a strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)