Starting from his first acting gig, as a car salesman in the feature “Our Town”, which he also scripted, Mo Hong-jin has shown time and time again his affinity for the thriller genre. Even though it has been one of the most popular genre in his home country, it would take him nine years until the first day of shooting began for “Missing You”. Besides offering the kind of entertainment that goes along with this kind of movie, as a writer he was interested in what turns a person into a “monster”, as Mo explains in interviews about his feature. Especially with regards to the character of Hee-jo, played by actress Shim Eun-kyung (“The Journalist”, “Blue Hour”), he wanted to know whether she decided to go the same path as the killer she had been following or if she would remain human and a “girl”.
Fifteen years ago Ki-bum (Kim Sung-oh) was convicted for murder, but due to lack of evidence he could only be sentenced for one of his victims, leaving not only their relatives but also members of the police force in tears and shock. Especially detective Dae-young (Yoon Je-moon), whose superior was one of the victims, became quite bitter after the end of the trial, after having spent days and nights trying to make a good case against the serial killer. Additionally, he feels guilty in front of Hee-jo (Shim Eun-kyung), the daughter of his former boss, who became an orphan and also witnessed the last remaining moments of her father's life.
After Ki-bum is released from prison, it does not take very long for the detective to pick up his trail, as he is convinced he will murder again. Aware he is being followed, the killer treads carefully not to cause any unnecessary suspicion, as he attempts to find out who ratted him out all those years ago and thus is responsible for his prison time. However, his plans as well as the detective's are thwarted when a new player enters the scene and starts killing Ki-bum's former associates, because behind her unassuming facade, He-jo has not forgotten what happened to her 15 years ago and has spent all this time training for an opportunity to take revenge on the murderer of her father.
When it comes to the thriller genre, as already explained, the South Korean film industry has proven time and time again it can deliver entertaining and tense features, even though its tendency to over-explain is somewhat troubling and often takes away the impact an otherwise great story could have had. Even though some of these aspects can be applied to “Missing You” too, director Mo Hong-jin provides enough ground to divert from the norm somewhat. The first point relates to his aesthetic approach, which, combined with Choi Sang-ho's cinematography, presents the city as a noir-labyrinth, a dark maze fitting to the themes and characters the story of “Missing you” explores. This is especially true for the great finale of the film, as we see the three narrative strands coming to a tense, gripping conclusion, and their world at its darkest.
The second point which sets “Missing You” apart from the norm is the performances. Although you could make a case for this movie being an ensemble piece, the weight of the story and its themes are mostly carried by actors Shim Eun-kyung, who proves yet again her impressive talent, and Kim Sung-oh (“The Man from Nowhere”, “Unstoppable”). Shim highlights the physical and emotional burden of someone who has to hide her feelings in order to execute her revenge, while also delving into the mindset of the kind of person responsible for the murder of her father. Apart from his physical transformation, which is reminiscent of Christian Bale's in “The Machinist” or “Rescue Dawn”, Kim makes for a formidable, clever and often quite eerie adversary, culminating in perhaps one of the most memorable performances in recent years from South Korea.
In the end, “Missing You” is a great thriller which easily makes up for some of its weak points due to its performances and its aesthetic approach. Mo Hong-jin certainly proves once again his affinity and talent for the genre, and with perhaps some more fine-tuning can deliver a truly magnificent genre entry in his next feature.
