I for one, am a huge fan of Park Chan Wook. Throughout my teen years, I began to discover much more foreign cinema than I did previously and found a adoration for that of Asian Cinema. Anything from the works of Wong Kar Wai, Bong Joon Ho and even Takashi Miike. Park Chan Wook has had a very interesting filmography similar to those listed. Park directed one of my favourite movies in Oldboy, a revenge film that has a twist that no one saw coming. Another gem in his filmography is “The Handmaiden”, an erotic love story for all the sapphic lesbians in the world (including me). Park Chan Wook has been notable for many things in his career, some of those being his wildly dark and nihilistic premises, his sharp writing and his wildly unexpected and perfect twists. Decision to Leave is no exception to this idea.
Decision To Leave is the third film in his second trilogy of films. Park has made two trilogies of films that aren’t connected in terms of story, but they are deeply connected in theme. The first of these trilogies is the “Vengeance Trilogy” which includes Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. The second one is what I like to call the “Lust Trilogy”, which includes Thirst, The Handmaiden and Decision To Leave. The Vengeance trilogy is linked with the central theme of the lead getting bloody revenge on those who wronged them while The Lust Trilogy is linked with the central theme of its main characters giving into their deep sexual desires and getting themselves into some dangerous and sometimes erotic situations.
Decision to Leave follows a detective who begins to fall in love with a woman who is a suspect in a murder case that he is investigating. This mysterious woman is the number one suspect in the murder of her husband. As the connection grows deeper, his judgment becomes clouded and he has a hard time deciphering what the truth really is in the situation. Similar to the other two films in this trilogy, the film starts to become twisted as the pair’s bond begins to strengthen. The need they have for each other leads to multiple complications in the process of the investigation. This element wouldn’t have been so strong without the fantastic writing and acting that facilitated it.
The writing and directing of this film is on par with the best that Park Chan Wook has given us. The film is one that leaves you guessing till the end as he throws random elements at you that completely change the way that you see the story and the characters that inhabit it. The writing is particularly strong as every little thing introduced is brought back and fully explained by the end of the film. The film also has a layer of subtext analyzing the concept of humans wanting to be part of something bigger and even digs into the idea of our obsession with mysteries and crime as a society. Jang Hae-Joon (played by Park Hae-il) is obsessed with the cases that he was never able to solve and that ties directly into his fascination with this mysterious woman. This obsession leads to a climax that I had to sit with and think about for a bit because of how twisted yet brilliant it was.
The acting in this film also helps elevate the material as stated before. Park Hae-il’s performance as the obsessive detective Jang He-Joon and Tang Wei as the mysterious woman Song Seo-rae are the most compelling of these performances as we spend the most time with them. Their chemistry really pulls you in to the story as a whole as the pair work so well together on screen. They give such fantastic performances that you as an audience member starts to become twisted in the affair as well leading viewers to bounce back and forth between who’s side they are on. The academy doesn’t usually recognize international performers in their acting categories, but this year they should make an exception for the pair. Without the strong acting, it would have been a bit hard to invest myself into this film as Park Chan Wook’s work is very character driven. The performances in this one are particularly fantastic and deserve some awards season love.
One other element that really stuck out to me about this film, along with the rest of Park’s filmography is the cinematography and colour grading. Park and his cinematographer Kim Ji-yong, who’s first credit seems to be Decision to Leave which makes this even more impressive, choose some very interesting and creative ways to frame the action and the drama. There’s one scene specifically that contains a chase scene that includes some over the shoulder shots that I find very creative and engaging. I found myself super intrigued by the cinematography and the colour grading as I feel like they were doing things that really aren’t common in films. Park definitely wanted a unique look to this film as he does with all his others, and he was able to achieve that with the help of his talented cinematographer.
Decision to Leave is definitely one of the best films that I’ve seen come out of 2022 so far. Another stellar film from one of my personal favourite directors and a good way to cap off his “Lust Trilogy” after blowing us away with the first two entires, those being Thirst and The Handmaiden. Anyone who is a fan of Park’s work, asian cinema, or just mysterious thrillers in general should check this one out. I sense at least a Best International Feature nomination (or even win) with this one!
The Rating:
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