First Hit: Started with hopeful interest but, by the end, fell to uninspired.
I’m not sure if this Korean film sharing the same name with a 1960 Korean film is a remake or a reinterpretation. However, this film starts with some promise and fades quickly as there is nothing in the film to give the audience any idea the main character would act the way they do in the end.
It’s like there is a piece of background missing. It begins with a young woman Eun-yi (played by Do-yeon Jeon) getting out of the bed of her best friend. We’re able to piece together that this was an interim place for her to stay as she quickly picks up a new job as a nanny for Nami (Seo-Hyeon Ahn).
She is the smart cute daughter of Hoon (played by Jung-Jae Lee) and the very pregnant Haera (played by Seo Woo). Hoon is attracted to Eun-yi’s beauty and innocence and directs her to have sex with him. I say direct because the class system of Korea plays a prominent role in this film as does the employer / employee relationship.
The relationship continues and when Eun-yi becomes pregnant Haera and her mother plot to get rid of her and the baby. Part of the ploy works but Eun-yi wants revenge of sorts and makes a complete spectacle of herself at the end of the film.
Jeon was good up to a point. She played the innocence well but where was the background that had her act the way she did in the end? This was not her fault but the writer and director’s issue. Lee was arrogantly perfect as the super-rich husband who felt entitled to behave anyway he wanted. Woo was beautifully pregnant and OK in her role as the cheated on wife. Ahn was excellent as the daughter. Sang-soo Im both wrote the screenplay and directed this film. He missed a critical piece in his exuberance to create a suspenseful thriller. One has to have enough information in the end to connect the dots or else the audience is left with film that doesn’t make sense.
Overall: There is very little to make this film work or interesting.