Mu-roe-han (2015) Reviews

• Seen it all before, and done better too

  Leofwine_draca2017-01-02

  THE SHAMELESS is another Korean drama/thriller that follows a hackneyed old storyline that the Koreans seem to love seeing play out. The storyline is about a top undercover cop who is part of a team tasked with bringing down a violent crime boss. To this end, the police decide to movie in on the man's girlfriend, but the cop ends up falling in love with her, which complicates things rather extensively. The old 'falling in love with the wrong person' story has been done too many times in Korean cinema to note. One of the best examples is A BITTERSWEET LIFE which I'd recommend to anyone reading this, if you haven't already seen it. However, THE SHAMELESS isn't an action film or indeed particularly thrilling; it's much slower and more mannered than that, more of a dark drama. It reminded me a little of BREATHLESS, although BREATHLESS is much better. The problem with this film is not just the familiarity of the situation but the execution too. It's just so slow and slight that it doesn't grip the attention like other pulse-pounding Korean thrillers. I don't mind slow - I love the films of Kim Ki-duk - but there has to be SOMETHING there to grab your attention and keep you watching and there's little here. Jeon Do-yeon (so effective in THE HOUSEMAID) gives another interesting performance and there's the odd violent and intense moment, but for the most part THE SHAMELESS is a bit of a bore.