After the golden age of S. Korean crime thrillers that took place during the previous one and a half decades, and about half a decade that saw copies that were not particularly artful or successful, the genre had fallen into a kind of disfavour, with very few films of the category being shot. Kwon Oh-seung, in his debut, comes to fill this gap with a movie that takes us back to the style of “The Chaser”.
“Midnight” is screening at New York Asian Film Festival
Kyung-mi is a deaf-mute girl who works in a company in the service department responsible for people with the same ailment. After a business meeting that lasts for longer than expected, she goes to meet her mother, who is also deaf-mute and has just gotten a significant amount of money due to her work recently, in order for the two of them to return to their home safely. In the meanwhile, So-jeong, a young woman, who has a strained relationship with her brother, Jong-tak, since he has decided to act as her father posing curfews and forbidding her to dress in ways he considers indecent, also is walking in the same area during the same time. What the three women do not know is that a serial killer who has been the source of a wave of murders in the city, Do-sik, is also on their heels, with his target changing from Kyung-mi to So-jeong. The former eventually finds the latter rather hurt in the dark alleys of the area, but through a series of extreme events, most of which derive from Do-sik's utter nerve, she and her mother end up with him in the police precinct, trying to explain about So-jeong. Eventually, Jong-tak also comes searching for his sister, but Do-sik is proven even more cunning than anyone could expect.
Kwon Oh-seung creates a rather intriguing narrative, which takes, though, a significant liberty in order to make the whole script work: he presents all the members of the police appearing in the movie as utterly useless imbeciles, who cannot even put two and two together. Apart from that, however, the script is quite elaborate, benefiting the most by three elements. The first and most obvious one is that Kyung-min and her mother are deaf-mute, which essentially means that their communication with the people who could potentially help and save them is rather hard. Do-sik exploits the fact as much as possible, which brings us to the second element, that of his intense nerve and manipulating/demagoguing abilities, which he uses repeatedly and in combination, to avoid capture even in moments where his arrest looks like a certainty. Lastly, the mother who suspects that something is wrong with the surprisingly polite guy who is supposedly looking for her sister, but cannot convince anyone about the fact until it is too late, concludes the triptych.
The mixture of these elements with the noir atmosphere, as presented by the excellent cinematography by Cha Taek-gyun, who manages to frame the dark, narrow streets in a way the communicates the danger in the most eloquent way, results in an agonizing thriller that retains the sentiment from beginning to almost the end. At the same time, the action is also brutal, with the one-on-ones between Do-sik and Jong-tak highlighting the action choreography, and the ones between the latter and the various women, the thriller element of the movie. Lee Gang-hui's editing helps the most in that regard, although some issues with the way the narrative progresses do exist.
Furthermore, Kwon also makes some social and philosophical comments through the story, although not all of them will sit particularly well with the audience, particularly regarding the crime-and-punishment ones. For example, Jong-tak's intense strictness regarding her sister is utterly justified considering what happens to her in the end, with the opposite applying to the fact that she chooses to “disobey” him, in a rather patriarchal comment. The events that surround his fate could also be interpreted through the concept of “crime and punishment” while another comment moves towards the exact opposite, as a number of people seem to be eager to believe what Do-sik is saying but not Kyung-mi, in a comment that can be perceived as racism both against women and handicapped people.
The acting is among the best traits of the movie. Jin Ki-joo as Kyung-mi is impressive as the ignorant but filled with resolve young woman, with the antithesis with her disillusioned mother, played greatly by Gil Hae-yeon, working quite well for the narrative. The one who steals the show, however, is Wi Ha-joon as Do-sik, in one of the best villains we have seen in movies lately, as he portrays his character's sociopathic genius in the most impressive way.
“Midnight” has its faults, particularly with the story that has its number of holes, but in general, emerges as a rather entertaining and quite original crime thriller that will satisfy all fans of the genre.
