Review: 'The Handmaiden' is painfully pretentious
Count Fujiwara (Ha Jung-woo) and Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) in “The Handmaiden.” (Shaw Organisation)
Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. He’s also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 145 minutes (~ 2.5 hours)
“The Handmaiden” is a Korean drama that’s adapted from the novel “Fingersmith.” It’s about a heiress and her handmaiden, who’s actually a pickpocket that’s scheming to steal her fortune with another conman. It stars Kim Min-hee (Lady Hideko), Ha Jung-woo (Count Fujiwara), Kim Tae-ri (Sook-hee), Cho Jin-woong (Uncle Kouzuki). It is rated R-21.
Do you like Park Chan-wook films? If you do, then “The Handmaiden” is more of the same from him. The worst part is that this isn’t an original story — it’s an adaptation that goes south once the film deviates from the original source material. That’s perhaps the most telling sign of this film’s quality. It’s full of artistry, but it’s so focused on the director showcasing how wonderful his film that it ironically ends up becoming even less so.
Count Fujiwara, Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), Lady Hideko, and Uncle Kouzuki (Cho Jin-woong) in “The Handmaiden.” (Shaw Organisation)
Highlights
Beautifully shot
“The Handmaiden” is set in a exotic time period (or at least, it is romanticised as such) and the film takes advantage of the setting and era to give us artistically framed shots that linger and linger and linger, so that we can appreciate the carefully arranged aesthetics of it. There’s no doubting the cinematographic merit of the film, as the director forces you to watch every single breathtaking visual he has created.
Impressive plot twists
While the film does have its fair share of self-serving indulgences, some ridiculous events turn out to be clever manipulations of perspective. The reveals are shocking and impactful, and delivered through exciting exposition that show us how certain events really played out. The fact that they can spring this on you multiple times is testament to how unexpected the plot twists are.
Lady Hideko and Sook-hee in “The Handmaiden.” (Shaw Organisation)
Letdowns
Too many pointless lingering shots
Do we need yet another gratuitous shot of a naked woman to drive home the point that they are lesbian? This is characteristic of many of his pointless shots, which are there to ensure that you take notice of how much work he has put into this film, rather than fulfilling a cinema-driven purpose. Long after the audience has gotten the point, the director is still belabouring it.
Emotions aren’t genuine
The cast aren’t acting, they are posing. They’re more concerned about how they look on camera and whether they’re in precisely the right spot at the exact moment as dictated by the director, rather than emoting and building a genuine connection with the audience. In terms of plotting, all the right beats are hit. In terms of character, not once do you feel that their crying or lovemaking or violence rings true. It plays out according to what is written, nothing more, nothing less.
Resolved too neatly for a film that’s about complicated matters
At the end of the day, the bad guys get their comeuppance and the good guys ride off into the sunset. It’s the most trite ending possible for a film that’s purportedly cutting edge and modernistic and artistic. It’s a standard ending for sure, but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. After exploring all that taboo subject matter and daring to expose us to the harsh reality of human cruelty, it ends like every other film in existence? Really?
“The Handmaiden” is more concerned with pleasing the creator than pleasing the audience, to the point that is painfully pretentious.
Should you watch this for free? I suppose.
Should you watch this at weekday weekend movie ticket prices? If you like Park Chan-wook films.
Score: 2.0/5
“The Handmaiden” opens in cinemas 7 July, 2016 (Thursday).
