Following 2009's “The Pit and the Pendulum” was an interesting task for the then rookie director Sohn Young-sung. After all, his morbid look at monomania garnered mixed reviews, with some believing its ambitious tales-within-tales approach was consummately dispatched, whilst others felt that the relatively complex narrative drags itself towards a fantasy-filled, incongruous conclusion. Thus, the pressure was firmly off for Sohn as he headed towards his sophomore effort, as there was certainly no debut masterpiece that needed topping, but nevertheless a little rather frank expectation that the promising filmmaker would deliver a more consistent end product. Fortunately, “The Client” provided exactly that, with its gripping courtroom drama an intriguingly dark look at both workplace politics and marital grievances. Dominating the box office throughout its run (and despite its late-September release becoming the 10th highest grossing film in South-Korea during 2011), its a suspense-thriller that is unlikely to offer any clear originality, but succeeds in executing its compelling whodunit premise nimbly.
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The film begins following Han Chul-min (Jang Hyuk) on his wedding anniversary. Heading home, he slips past the crowded apartment complex entrance holding a bouquet of flowers for his wife, only to encounter police gathering evidence for a suspected murder. Soon, after staring at a pool of blood in their bedroom, the stone-faced husband finds himself cuffed by the waiting officers, and accused of murdering his wife. Things take their course, and in due time the charismatic attorney Kang Sung-hee (Ha Jung-woo) agrees to represent the hapless defendant, even though he is markedly unsure of his client's innocence.
As it turns out, Kang's insistence on taking the case and freeing the accused is in part due to his bitterness towards the prosecutor Ahn Min-ho (Park Hee-soon), a sort-of friend who represents the establishment, the type of white-collar figures who would force a man on trial with only circumstantial evidence just as they want something wrapped up swiftly. Yet, with lingering doubt, bribed witnesses and shady workings all hanging over the case, will the driven Kang Sung-hee manage to succeed in winning his case for Chul-min, or will he come to regret even getting involved in such an unsettling predicament?
In many ways, it is the surface level enjoyment in watching the court-case unfold, as well as the constant switches in which side seems likely to triumph, which makes “The Client” so exciting. Fast-paced and quick-witted, witnessing both the prosecution and defence risk reputation as they outwit each other and tread into morally, ethically and legally grey areas is invigorating, only aided by side-characters such as Jang Ho-won (Sung Dong-il) who provide astute comic relief whilst becoming more emphatically desperate. Despite a large portion of the two-hour runtime being spent in the enclosed courtroom, the movie still feels spacious, moving around locations carefully as the case trickles from the marital home all the way to roadside rivers.
Furthermore, although the main characters are seldom developed in terms of emotional tact, the growth in their responsibility as the trial evolves from a clear-cut murder to something shrouded in mystery and persuasion is enthralling, and a further succinct element which Sohn includes in his sophomore effort. Particularly, Kang Sung-hee's realisation that his spite and drive to succeed may have actually resulted in an incorrect verdict is genuinely surprising, and stands out as a moment in which the character's hubris is chipped away at unequivocally. Similarly, his rash interrogation of his former client shines as an attempt of ham-fisted catharsis, breaking down the protagonist into someone who realises that some wrongs simply cannot be corrected.
Such subtle development and sympathies cannot be developed without a strong cast, though, and “The Client” boasts an exceptional line-up which allows the procedural drama to coast through its set-pieces and take the audience on a feature-length trip which will have them questioning their own moral viewpoint. It is Ha Jung-woo who is most memorable, his portrayal as the steadfast defence attorney explicitly striking to the viewer, and understated enough to have just a facial expression or tonal change tell a story just as well as the dialogue. Likewise, Jang Hyuk is applaudable as Han Chul-min, a rather unspoken-yet-multifaceted man who demands a smart performance. Disparate at first but smug, smarmy and cocky at the apex, Jang handles his character's personality changes seamlessly, and undeniably elicits reactions from whomever may watch.
Technically, “The Client” is rather basic, with cinematographer Choi Sang-ho mostly doing a decent job with colourising landscapes and giving a tangible eeriness to the crime scene, but avoiding risk-taking when in the courtroom, sticking to expression-filled close-ups of the film's leads to help tell an emotional story. With that being said, the dream sequence of the crime's occurrence is phenomenally jarring, and shows off Choi's prowess in telling a harsh, brutal tale whilst only revealing small parts of it to the eye adeptly.
In short, Sohn Young-sung turns a typical procedural thriller into something filled with gravitas and relevance, ensuring his stellar cast are equipped with the written depth to allow the plot to thrive. With its snappy pace and quintessential plot-twists both executed near-flawlessly, “The Client” is a release well worth watching, and may even make you reflect on a key question: “Is it more egregious to put one innocent man in jail, than it is to let ten guilty men walk free?”
