Oldboy Synopsis:
US remake of the seminal Chan Wook-Park ultra violent South Korean classic Oldboy.
Oldboy Movie Review:
This striking Korean action thriller grabs hold in its opening shot and never lets go! Kinetic and energetic, funny and more than a little insane, the film ingeniously gets us into the mind of its hero and lets us experience a series of utterly mind-blowing situations with him. No wonder it won the Grand Prix at Cannes!
Dae-su (Choi) is mysteriously kidnapped right outside the home where he lives happily with his wife and daughter. He wakes up in what looks like a hotel room but is actually a prison where he's kept for 15 years. His sudden release is just as mysterious, and he dedicates his life to finding out why this happened to him and who's responsible. He's assisted by an old buddy (Chi) and the pretty sushi chef Mido (Gang), with whom he immediately falls in love. The trail leads to a very odd businessman (Yu) who's pulling the strings. But why?
The story is an action-revenge thriller, but Park maintains a blackly comic tone that's both unnerving and endearing. Despite his erratic personality, we really like Dae-su, and we are just as desperate to solve the mystery of his life as he is. The script is cunningly structured to reveal secrets slowly, making discoveries and connections right up to the final stomach-churning revelation.
Performances are terrific. Choi gets so deeply under Dae-su's skin that we actually worry for his mental well-being. This is completely unhinged acting, and since we're on his side all the way, it works brilliantly. Yu is the other standout, glacially charming and yet we see something sinister and emotionally devastating behind that handsome face.
Meanwhile, Park is taking us on an unforgettable journey, shocking us with murder, mayhem, horrific dentistry and, erm, gruesome eating habits. But the emotional core makes the film special--an undercurrent of sadness, neediness, vulnerability and lack of identity, which as it comes into focus makes the characters wish they were back in the fog of ignorance. It gets a little too grisly and melodramatic at the end, but when the final puzzle piece falls into place, it's a stunner.
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Oldboy review written by: Rich Cline
12th October, 2008 
