When you see a Park Chan-Wook film, you’re almost guaranteed to experience something new. His previous films, including Oldboy, The Handmaiden, and Thirst all deftly mix genres and feature gut-wrenching memorable performances. His latest, Decision to Leave, is Chan-Wook once again operating on a different level.
Starting off as a police procedural, the film soon combines psychological horror, neo-noir, romance, family drama, and political thriller. Stay with me: it all works. Detective Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is investigating the mysterious death of Seo-rae’s (Tang-wei) husband. As he dives deeper into the case, Hae-jun also develops an obsession with Seo-rae, one that impacts both his marriage and his career.
We find out Seo-rae is an immigrant from China living in Korea, and how she often seems lost in a culture she doesn’t fully understand. Her relationship with Hae-jun starts off friendly and professional but soon evolves into something that the two cannot control. As Hae-jun tries to figure out the circumstances behind her husband’s demise, he soon loses control of the world around him, neglecting his wife and friends as he digs deeper and deeper into Seo-rae’s sordid world.
Chan-Wook displays a technical mastery that’s almost unparalleled throughout the film’s 138-minute runtime. His trademark violent streak is a little muted here (there is a scene where Hae-jun fights an assailant while wearing a chain-mail glove, for those craving savagery). But this film relies more on mood and character development than bloodshed. Decide to see this film, and you surely won’t regret it. The film would work well for those studying the film noir genre, as well as Hitchcock devotees. It would also work well in a presentation on Asian cinema.