Korean director Chan Wook Park’s Old Boy (2003) tells the story of a man, Dae Su Oh, who for fifteen years is imprisoned in a gloomy, lonely, motel-like room. During these fifteen years he has no idea who his kidnapper is or for that matter, why he is even kidnapped. But he trains daily in hopes that on the day that he is freed, he will be able tear his captors limb from limb. Through this long imprisonment, the desire for revenge begins to change Dae Su from the inside out; vengeance begins consumes his old playful, immature character. Fifteen years later, he is released, and is given an opportunity to play a game with his kidnapper (with a time limit, of course) -Objective: Figure out the reason behind the imprisonment and figure out who the captor is. Reward: A chance to kill the person who held him captive for fifteen years. And if he fails, his kidnapper gets to kill the woman who Dae Su loves. The film follows Dae Su on his quest for vengeance. His quest for revenge brings him to his forgotten memories in which lies the motive to why he was kidnapped.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
At 1 hour 32 minutes and 5 seconds, Dae Su thinks he has figured out why he was kidnapped, and has come to kill his kidnapper, Woo-Jin. The scene is very contradicting because Dae Su is the one who is going to kill Woo-Jin yet Dae Su is the one who is pushed back, and made smaller in this medium-close up shot. The close up of Woo-Jin shows that he still has power over Dae Su, and the smirk on his face gives the audience a slight indication that he has a few more tricks up his sleeve. This scene continues to become even more contradictory because throughout the whole film the audience has assumed Woo-Jin to be the antagonist and Dae Su to be the protagonist. But the costumes of the characters say otherwise. Woo-Jin is the one in the white, clean dress shirt, while Dae Su is the one in the black suit. Dae Su is no longer perceived as the victim, but the audience begins to understand Woo-Jin’s heart motive for kidnapping Dae Su. But his plans for Dae Su still remain vague.
The overall set design of Woo-Jin’s house is very murky and mysterious. It tells a lot about the tone of the film but also about Woo-Jin as well. Woo-Jin is a very wealthy man, who is haunted by the death of his sister, whom he loved. Woo-Jin’s penthouse is very simple and impersonal, except for the wall of photos of his sister. It shows how his sister was the only person he truly cared for in his life, and it also shows a reason for why vengeance was so important to him. This film uses the concept of an eye for an eye, but takes it to a whole other level.
Dae Su and Woo-Jin act with strong conviction for their characters that are driven by their need for revenge. To me, Dae Su seems a lot more foolish because he is driven by his need for revenge through rage and violence, while Woo-Jin is calm, collected and cool, and rarely shows any serious emotional side, but it’s clear that Woo-Jin hides all his emotions and feelings of loss. Old Boy is a very different from most revenge themed films because not only does it show the minds of both the victim and the avenger, but also in the end, they both turn out to be victims.
Mr Cowlin: What do the rest of you have to say about Jessica's analysis? Agree? Disagree? And Jessica, I'm not so sure I agree about your use of the word "murky"... Care to elaborate?
