Mystery-thriller film by Director Jung Ji Woo, Heart Blackened, delivers a twisty tale of a father who will vì anything khổng lồ prove his daughter’s innocence.
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Similar to the themes portrayed in the film ‘Mother‘, this one surely brings the same level of mystery & darkness only that it ended totally different from ‘Mother’. Whereas ‘Mother’ focused on the lead’s strong will khổng lồ protect her son and in the process losing herself và commits her own crime, ‘Heart Blackened’ tests lớn what extent a father will go through for his child he hardly focused on while growing up, to the point you will question his real intentions và wonder about what truly goes in his unreadable mind, only to find yourself thinking otherwise about this dubbed cold, materialistic business man father.
Just when you thought the truth is the absolute answer, it might just turn out to lớn be false. This film redeems itself at the last 30 minutes in this manner.
The StoryIm Tae San (Choi Min Sik) is a businessman whose fiancee, famous singer Yuna (Honey Lee), got killed after meeting his daughter mi Ra (Lee Su Kyung) in a club upon receiving an unexpected invitation from her one night.
With all fingers pointing to Mi Ra as the prime suspect khổng lồ Yuna’s death, Tae San is determined lớn prove his daughter’s innocence. He hires Choi Hee Jung (Park Shin Hye) as ngươi Ra’s defense lawyer considering her amicable history with the girl. However, it is proven hard to defend mi Ra as she was dead drunk when everything at the club happened & she cannot remember anything about that night besides the fact she heatedly argued with Yuna after finding out the scandalous tape involving the singer with another man than her father.
Hee Jung tries her best lớn prove mày Ra is innocent, but things take quite a turn as Kim Dong-Myeong (Ryu Jun Yeol)–Yuna’s self proclaimed fan–reveals he has a recorded tape of what happened between mi Ra & Yuna in the parking lot that night, highlighting how Yuna died a horrible death.
Final ThoughtsI’m really big with legal dramas or movies, so whatever it is, I watch it as long as its gripping as the last one, though most of the time I’m disappointed, still there are ones that are surprisingly good though my first impression of it ain’t. That’s just how it is for me with Heart Blackened.
For most part of the film its so veiled with mystery with little hints here & there about what happened the night of Yuna’s death. We are faced with the possibility that a teen like Mi Ra is the prime suspect lớn her death, but with how vulnerable she looked as she struggled khổng lồ keep up with the trials and her forgotten memories of that night, I begin khổng lồ question myself whether she’s truly it. Showroom lawyer Hee Jung to the equation và her determination khổng lồ prove her innocence & my resolve khổng lồ suspect ngươi Ra too dissolves.
With Dong Myeong’s appearance and the existence of a recorded tape of the incident which everyone wanted lớn fall into their hands as if in an attempt to lớn hide the truth behind who really killed Yuna, I begin suspecting Tae San–who has been consistently cold, with a dark aura surrounding him and who has portrayed himself as the bad guy pretending to care for his daughter–as he secretly orders his men to vì dirty jobs for him.
Hee Jung is smart enough lớn catch onto Tae San’s ploy lớn evade the law by burying the truth behind Yuna’s death & somehow she gets a hold of the strongest evidence everyone is after and this becomes the end for Tae San. He is later convicted for actually killing Yuna when in the beginning everyone thought it was mi Ra, who has all the reasons khổng lồ hate her.
I had this short moment of relief as the truth was revealed and I really thought I am just heading for the conclusion of the film but then I looked at the time I spent watching all those events transpire và I realized there was enough time for something else.
Then Hee Jung somehow starts doubting herself and the decision made in the courtroom when she watches this footage on her máy tính that she has not so much as spent the time lớn focus on because of the whirlwind of events previously. She connects one dot to lớn another & somehow she flies to xứ sở nụ cười thái lan with only a gut feeling that there’s just something more khổng lồ Yuna’s case than it let on in court.
And she must have been appalled to lớn realize at how right she was while I was gaping at the scenes prior lớn the credits that revealed the unexpected truth behind Yuna’s death, which is totally far from the truth the film convinced us khổng lồ believe.
Just when you thought anyone who looks lượt thích the criminal is the criminal, the victim as the real victim & the nhân vật is the real hero, this movie defies that criteria & redeems itself in it’s last arc as it delivers the emotional and sad truth right after burying itself in a mysterious but somehow predictive first half.
This movie is very dark và serious and without the element of comedy, someone might think of dropping it halfway, but then Choi Min Sik shines as he plays the two-faced anti-hero Tae San that did so well in not letting his well-schooled expression betray him or what the plot intended for its viewers lớn see, và there’s also Park Shin Hye as Choi Hee Jung, though not that spunky as a lawyer & who might still need some training khổng lồ feel like one, who manages to lớn still portray the role outstandingly.
RatingQuite a refreshing twist there, though saddening that I cried, so I’ll give this film a 4.0 out of 5.
Eighteen years after his debut feature film “Happy End”, director Jung Ji-woo reunites with actor par excellence Choi Min-sik for murder mystery/courtroom drama “Heart Blackened”, the remake of Chinese film “Silent Witness” starring superstar Aaron Kwok. “Heart Blackened” earned Best Supporting Actress nominations for both Lee Hanee & Lee Soo-kyung at the 54th Baeksang Art Awards, with the latter eventually emerging victorious.
Heart Blackened is screening at London Korean Film Festival
Yim Tae-san is the CEO of a vast empire who believes that money is the solution lớn all of life problems, except for his fledgling relationship with his daughter Yim Mi-ra. His relationship with her is further dented with his engagement to lớn beautiful và much-loved singer Park Yoo-na, who just cannot seem khổng lồ get Mi-ra khổng lồ warm up to lớn her, despite her best efforts. When Yoo-na is found killed in a parking lot shortly after a meeting with Mi-ra, suspicion falls immediately on the latter, who cannot remember anything of the crucial hours of the incident due to lớn an inconvenient blackout, and she is swiftly arrested.
Yim Tae-san throws money and man-power in his efforts to clear Mi-ra"s name, eventually hiring up-and-coming lawyer Choi Hee-jeong, Mi-ra"s old friend, to lớn clear his daughter"s name in court. Hee-jeong – part lawyer, part detective, full badass – sets on a course to lớn find out what went on that night, gather evidence with the help of her journalist flatmate, và go up against a prosecutor she knows all too well. Tae-san, meanwhile, goes his own way trying lớn uncover the truth & help his daughter, throwing money at whoever can help, a course which eventually leads him to lớn cross paths with Kim Dong-myeong, a Yoo-na superfan who specialises in CCTV installations.
Jung Ji-woo has had a varied oeuvre, including a family drama, love stories, a politically charged drama and a sports film, but this is the first time he handles a thriller and, for the most part, succeeds at it. The film works best as a whodunit, as Hee-jeong slowly unveils the events of the night with the help of eyewitnesses and surveillance footage. One might wonder if a lawyer would go to lớn such extents to lớn get khổng lồ the bottom of a case, but her motives lớn clear her friend"s name are understandable. Tae-san"s efforts, on the other hand, seem completely believable from a man for whom money is nothing but means to an end. The involvement of all parties in the events of the night keep changing và keep the viewer guessing.
The director also offers a sharp critique on the stronghold that the rich and famous have on society, on public perception, even on the judicial system. The film"s stand on how far a father would go lớn for his child, even one that he doesn"t get along with, is interesting. “Heart Blackened” does lose steam when it gets into the courtroom. Courtroom decorum is thrown for a toss in favour of dramatic effect, leading the scenes to lớn feel artificial và taking away from an otherwise grounded film. The prosecution"s inadequacies are plain lớn see và most frustrating. Mercifully, the film doesn"t spend as much time in the courtroom as one would otherwise think it would.
Choi Min-sik has worked with some of South Korea"s best directors in some of South Korea"s best films, but “Happy End” remains one of his most memorable performances. In fact, his performance in “Heart Blackened” reminds us of that performance at times, his face as stoic as possible while carrying a volcano of grief within himself in both films. So good is his performance that his monologue in the courtroom remains not only the film"s best scene in the courtroom, but arguably its best part. Park Shin-hye doesn"t bởi vì a lot of films, working more on small screen K-Dramas, but she is excellent when she does. Here, she plays a lawyer yet again after 2013"s tearjerker “Miracle in Cell No. 7”, and feels almost lượt thích an extension of that role, working khổng lồ clear the innocent"s name yet again. Former Miss Korea Lee Hanee shines as Park Yoo-na, but is just slightly overshadowed by Lee Soo-kyung"s wonderful turn as Mi-ra, who portrays the many layers and changes in her character with surprising deftness. Ryu Jun-yeol has had an incredible couple years, featuring in tentpole films “The King”, “A taxi Driver” và “Believer” và is a breath of fresh air here.
The cinematography by Kim Tae-kyung is lush, showing off the beautiful exterior locations with some fine use of natural light. The film"s weakest technical aspect has to be its editing, with the film in much need of a trim, particularly in its final lap. The film opts to spell out every single aspect of the mystery, which audiences would have probably been better off guessing for themselves with the various hints that are already scattered and pointed at at various parts, a strategy which would have worked in the film"s favour. The final, lingering cut-to-black shot of Choi Min-sik is just perfect though & leaves the viewer adequately satisfied.
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“Heart Blackened” is a strong entry in the mystery thriller genre, if not so much in the courtroom drama genre. It is an entertaining, engrossing watch that deserves lớn be seen for a very strong performance from one of South Korea"s greatest actors.