IT’S ALWAYS A treat to see the fi lm that
a hundred Hollywood action directors are about
to rip off (okay, lawyers, pay homage to) before
they reach it. The Villainess opens with one of
those sequences that will leave you wondering
how they did it, and marvelling at the sheer
kinetic impact. It fi nishes with another equally
laws-of-physics-defying fl ourish of a fi ght scene.
And in-between it offers a largely satisfying and
often chewily dense take on the usual betrayal/
revenge/contract killer tropes without ever
winking at the audience. Director Jung Byung-gil,
who also co-wrote, established himself as one to
watch with Confession Of Murder; consider him
now a bona fi de breakout success.
The story begins like it’s a fi rst-person
shooter, in the most effective use of that style to
date. Someone is battling their way up through
a building fi lled with besuited henchmen and
sinister lab personnel who pull weapons from
under their lab coats, only to prove unequal to
their opponent. This riveting sequence manages a
fresh take on the corridor fi ght, matching Oldboy
and Daredevil thanks to some (presumably
CG-stitched) camera work of dazzling
impossibility, the forces of gravity standing
back to admire the artistry with the rest of us.
When we fi nally see our protagonist, it
proves to be a young woman, Sook-hee (Thirst’s
Kim Ok-bin). Instead of being picked up by the
police, she’s taken in by shadowy fi gures, given
plastic surgery and sent to a strange all-girls’
school where she receives further training in the
deadly arts. Such an education seems superfl uous
after everything we’ve just witnessed, but her
skills are honed anyway and a cover life as an
actor established. Adding to her challenges
is the fact that this killer is a mother, having
arrived at assassin school pregnant. Thatrelationship with her tiny daughter adds a new
and unusual colour to the mix, giving those close
to her a plausible way to truly threaten her but
also adding tenderness where other fi lms have
only ass-kicking.
In addition to that bond there’s a rather
surprising detour into romcom territory in
the fi lm’s middle section, because Sook-hee’s
likeable handler, Hyun-soo (Sung), has fallen
for her. He must juggle his personal and
professional roles, keeping the latter a secret
from his charge and the former a secret from his
boss. Their awkward relationship is punctuated
by cute, tentative steps, including a Totoro-
echoing display of devotion and a surprising
decision after only a handful of dates.
As the story unfolds we see fl ashbacks
explaining more about Sook-hee’s tragic
background and the early years that made her
so lethal, though in such a non-linear order
that it’s sometimes less than immediately
enlightening. There’s a much-loved father,
a disastrous relationship and a betrayal, seen
over and over again as she cycles through the
same traumas. But it gradually becomes clear
that the backstory has echoes of Leon or Nikita’s
sympathetic fi gures, combining the two with
Kim’s steady-eyed performance to give its
heroine soul and humanity as she slaughters
her way through all opponents.
Really the slaughter is the point, rather
than the often labyrinthine plotting. This is a fi lm
that prefers baroque fl ourishes to propulsive
simplicity; it’s closer in that respect to Oldboy
than, say, Train To Busan. It slowly becomes
apparent that the assassin school boss (Kim
Seo-hyeong) is a little too well connected to
be a simple gangster and must be a government
fi gure, but there’s never any real clarity as to
who’s fi ghting whom and why. Let’s just assume
that murder begets murder, leave open the
question of whether the fi lm’s title is entirely
fair and get back to the action.
And it’s the action that will leave people
talking. Enjoy a bride turning sniper on her
wedding day or two geisha ambushing their
clients, and try to breathe normally during
a spectacular motorbike chase. Cinematographer
Park Jung-hun and fi ght choreographer Kwon
Gui-duck should be fl ooded with offers after
this display — but the entire fi lmmaking team
is on form. Aside from the overly complicated
storytelling, there’s barely a bum note here,
and not a jaw left undropped. HELEN O’HARAVERDICT Frenetic, kinetic action meets
satisfyingly soapy drama. See it before
everyone tries to copy the best bits.Rush hour had been
particularly testing
that morning.
DIRECTOR Jung Byung-gil
CAST Kim Ok-bin, Kim Seo-hyeong, Sung Jun,
Shin Ha-kyunPLOT Sook-hee (Kim Ok-bin) slaughters her way
through a drug den and emerges bloodied, to be
given facial reconstructive surgery and trained
as an assassin by shadowy yet powerful forces.
Slowly, her violent past and violent future unfold
as she grapples with her role.OUT 13 DECEMBER
RATED R18+ / 124 MINS
★★★★THE VILLAINESS