High Society (2018)
I haven't seen a film in a long time. For weeks I gave up the usual Netflix binge of strange Korean movies and low budget sci-fi films I've built these reviews around. So, going back into watching films I had to do it right; I had to watch something good. High Society by Hyuk Byun (The Scarlet Letter) was precisely that film.
High Society is a film about people who let their ambition get the better of them. It's about all I want to say in terms of plot, because this rollercoaster of a film has so many twists and turns that it's best viewed without any prior knowledge. That's certainly how I saw it, having only seen the brief vague trailer that Netflix put out. It's a film that rewards you for your patience, and helps you along with its fast pacing and incredible plot development. Each twist leads to another fantastic moment for our two protagonists, and watching them suffer made me feel some genuine emotions; I felt a pang of pain as they went through some seriously tough ordeals (I am never getting into politics after this). It's kinda how you feel when watching a good Scorsese film as these characters bring about their downfall, just in Korean.
And every element of this film helps to truly bring its clever and intense ideas to life. The pounding music helps elevate the tension to a whole other level, and yet knows when to be subtle or even quiet. It helps move along the film which totals to around 2hours and 17 minutes, which is a hefty chunk of time. But you never really feel it; each scene is as long as it needs to be, and each performance really enthrals you; it all feels real and plausible and just downright interesting a quality a lot of films seem to be lacking these days (looking at you Marvel)
But no film is without fault (kinda) and this film has a few. For one, while borrowing certain narrative beats from Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, it also seems to take it's obscene amount of sex. It's certainly all justified here, each sex scene so to speak does add to the story and character development (as it should, this isn't other adult entertainment after all), but it often feels just a tad needlessly long. Like I get it, he's a bad dude, stop showing me naked Korean blokes. But they are few and far between and they pass. It's other issue is isolated to the very end of the film which I have no intention of spoiling, do not fear. The film comes to a climax (excuse the pun) around the 2 hour mark and suffice to say there's some redemption to be had. But it's conveyed in a speech that feels a little too Hollywood. It's deserved sure, just feels a little tacky and cliche, a little Scooby Doo.
But despite all that, this is a film absolutely worth watching. I appreciate the negatives seem pretty bad, but don't let them put you off, I just didn't want to come across as biased (I love all things Korean). This is a genuinely great film; it's tense, emotional and has a great narrative. The characters are all well thought out and it moves along really nicely. I'm not really sure what else to say other than watch it. So long as you don't mind a little sex here and there, this is absolutely a film you should check out.
8/10
High Society is a film about people who let their ambition get the better of them. It's about all I want to say in terms of plot, because this rollercoaster of a film has so many twists and turns that it's best viewed without any prior knowledge. That's certainly how I saw it, having only seen the brief vague trailer that Netflix put out. It's a film that rewards you for your patience, and helps you along with its fast pacing and incredible plot development. Each twist leads to another fantastic moment for our two protagonists, and watching them suffer made me feel some genuine emotions; I felt a pang of pain as they went through some seriously tough ordeals (I am never getting into politics after this). It's kinda how you feel when watching a good Scorsese film as these characters bring about their downfall, just in Korean.
And every element of this film helps to truly bring its clever and intense ideas to life. The pounding music helps elevate the tension to a whole other level, and yet knows when to be subtle or even quiet. It helps move along the film which totals to around 2hours and 17 minutes, which is a hefty chunk of time. But you never really feel it; each scene is as long as it needs to be, and each performance really enthrals you; it all feels real and plausible and just downright interesting a quality a lot of films seem to be lacking these days (looking at you Marvel)
But no film is without fault (kinda) and this film has a few. For one, while borrowing certain narrative beats from Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street, it also seems to take it's obscene amount of sex. It's certainly all justified here, each sex scene so to speak does add to the story and character development (as it should, this isn't other adult entertainment after all), but it often feels just a tad needlessly long. Like I get it, he's a bad dude, stop showing me naked Korean blokes. But they are few and far between and they pass. It's other issue is isolated to the very end of the film which I have no intention of spoiling, do not fear. The film comes to a climax (excuse the pun) around the 2 hour mark and suffice to say there's some redemption to be had. But it's conveyed in a speech that feels a little too Hollywood. It's deserved sure, just feels a little tacky and cliche, a little Scooby Doo.
But despite all that, this is a film absolutely worth watching. I appreciate the negatives seem pretty bad, but don't let them put you off, I just didn't want to come across as biased (I love all things Korean). This is a genuinely great film; it's tense, emotional and has a great narrative. The characters are all well thought out and it moves along really nicely. I'm not really sure what else to say other than watch it. So long as you don't mind a little sex here and there, this is absolutely a film you should check out.
8/10
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