The Handmaiden

When it comes to Korean cinema, one of the go-to names is Chan-Wook Park. Primarily known in the U.S. for his trilogy of revenge films, Oldboy being the standout, Park is master at making stylish, slick looking movies with potentially trashy premises. Sometimes it's vampires (Thirst) and other times it's sexy movie about sociopaths (Stoker). One way or another they're always interesting, but I could hardly have expected The Handmaiden, a period erotic crime drama, to reel me in like it did.

Loosely based on the novel Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, the films follows a young woman named Sookee who is tasked to be the titular maid to the niece of a local nobleman. Though carrying goals of her own, Sookee quickly finds herself taken by her charge's beauty and charm. Thus begins a intrigue web of attraction, tested loyalties, and hidden secrets.

I'm being intentionally vague with my descriptions about this movie because the less you know the better. What you really need to know is that Chan-Wook Park knocked this out of the park.

Everything about the movie works. The production design is intricate and beautiful, the cinematography is stunning, and the setup is a perfect mix of trashy noir and period-piece class. The thing that's probably the most impressive is how effortlessly it effortlessly drifts between completely disparate scenes and tones. At one moment we've got dramatic character moments or romantic tension that's immediately cut by a perfectly timed joke, visual gag, or curse.

And for all of the attention that will be paid to the movie's more lurid scenes, none of them feel exploitative. They are serve a purpose for their moment in the film and actually move the plot forward or demonstrate character development. This is something a ton of filmmakers struggle with, but Park knows all the right buttons to push and how to push them.

The cast all plays their parts beautifully, especially our leading ladies. Newcomer Tae-ri Kim nails the perfect mix of naivete and naughty for Sookee and Min-hee Kim Lady Hideko has a perfect face for hiding intent or interest. The men, admittedly typecast as bastards bring all of the sleaze that's needed with an added nod to Ha Jung-woo as the Count.

Still the film's best element is probably Park's masterful screenplay. My litmus test for a film as long is this, it runs about two and a half hours, is whether or not there's a notable lull in the action. Here there truly isn't. Just when you think you have everything figured out you get a new fascinating piece of information or a twist arrives or someone does something unexpected. It's a perfect blueprint for engagement and a middle finger to anyone who says that extensive genre hybrids like this won't work or that movies are too long.

The movie's best audience, is hard to pin down. The film's sexual content is risque enough to get an R-rated in any region (maybe not France) but the violence is relatively tame, and not just by Park's standards. Likewise, as engaging as the film is to someone with an open mind, anyone interested in a straight-forward narrative structure or the standard subdued romance of most English period pieces is going to be a bit disappointed.

That said, I'll recommend this movie to anyone. It's a marvel in filmmaking from top to bottom, and would have easily made my best of 2016 lists had I seen in that year. This one should arrive on Amazon Prime soon so check it out.