Director: Bong Joon-ho
Starring: Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin & Jin Goo
Bong Joon-ho’s latest film is a gripping mystery thriller which, in places, conjures up memories of his film Memories of Murder but with the addition of a novel choice in protagonist driven to commit desperate, even dangerous, acts to find the truth.
After achieving huge success in his native Korea as well as success abroad with his excellent monster movie The Host, director Bong Joon-ho follows that film with Mother, a nourish, almost Hitchcockian thriller which has more in common with his directorial debut, the police procedural Memories of Murder than the film that better established his name. Casting heart-throb Won Bin as a mentally handicapped boy arrested for murder and Kim Hye-ja, a popular actress in television in Korea as her grief stricken and protective mother shows Joon-ho willing to takes risks again as before by making another film the subverts expectations of their genre. Mother is a gripping mystery thriller that has an interesting twist in its leading protagonist being an older mother looking to prove her son’s innocence. Mother has elements of Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder in its treatment of the investigations against the accused son but also bears elements of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance trilogy in its lead character’s determination and willingness to go to dark places to uncover the truth.
When Do-joon (Bin), a boy with a mental handicap, is arrested for the murder of a school girl with whom he was last person seen in her presence, he is easily persuaded by police officers to sign a confession without fully understanding what it is he has admitted to and what punishment he will receive. His mother, Hye-ja (Hye-ja), has long been overprotective of her son for reasons that are unknown to many and is distraught at what has happened to her son. Hye-ja sees her son’s only chance is her discovering who really killed the schoolgirl and progresses on a search for answers which, when frustrated by the lack of help the legal system provides, sends her looking into dark corners and maybe having to accept dark truths about her son and herself and the over what actions she is willing to take to prove her son’s innocence if evidence should point to his guilt.
Working against type with his police procedural Memories of Murder about an inept attempt at police investigation and his monster movie The Host focusing as much on family relationships as on its creature, Joon-ho’s latest film takes a murder mystery and makes his leading protagonist not a police officer, lawyer or journalist or even the accused but rather an aging mother and one without many resources. This twist is likely the film’s most engaging aspect as it makes for a plot that is somewhat unpredictable. The mother is clearly over-protective of her son though doesn’t display and obvious signs of affection for her son. Her relationship with her son and her reasons for being so protective prove to be for reasons beyond her son’s handicap. The mother too, is also unsure of where to look and how to prove her son’s innocence and even seems unsure as to whether she believes in his innocence herself but her frustrations at being unable to get police or lawyers to look into his case provokes her to search for answers herself. What is engaging and sometimes surprising is the threat the mother can present. Her frailty leads others to underestimate her as she too underestimates herself not because she is particularly skilled or confident but because she is desperate and prone to commit acts in panic that are morally ambiguous and, perhaps, worse. Mother takes the audience and its lead character through several twists and turns that serve to darken the tone and take its characters into grey areas of right and wrong.
The lead performances in Mother are strong with two of its stars playing against type. Kim Hye-ja is a familiar face to Korean television as a motherly figure but here she takes a motherly role driven into desperation and her character’s desperation is clear and also sympathetic even in spite of some of the actions her character takes. It is an engaging performance and one which allows audience’s interest to grow as the character’s initial eccentricities originally serve to distance audiences from the character but the character’s desperation draws you back in, investing you in the outcome of her search for the truth. Won Bin subverts his heart-throb image very well as Do-joon, playing on his looks in part whilst delivering a believable performance as someone with a mental handicap that makes him prone to forgetfulness, anger and being unable to fully grasp the reality of what he experiences. Jin Goo is also good as a friend of Do-joon’s whose illicit activities mark him as a possible suspect but also as a possible ally in proving Do-joon’s innocence.
Mother is a gripping mystery thriller with an unusual choice of leading character that allows the story and character to proceed towards some unexpected acts. The mother’s quest for the truth is often touching, tense and disturbing in equal measure making for another memorable film in Bong Joon-ho’s filmography.
Rating: 4/5
