From Park Chan-wook, the celebrated director of Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Stoker, comes a ravishing new crime drama. Park presents a gripping and sensual tale of two women – a young Japanese Lady living on a secluded estate, and a Korean woman who is hired to serve as her new handmaiden, but is secretly plotting with a conman to defraud her of a large inheritance. Inspired by the novel Fingersmith by British author Sarah Waters, The Handmaiden borrows the most dynamic elements of its source material and combines it with Park Chan-wook’s singular vision to create an unforgettable viewing experience.
Read the plot of the novel Fingersmith and the movie is actually better than the novel. The first part of the movie is the same as the novel. The second part of the movie is partly similar to the novel. The whole orphan and kids getting interchanged part of the novel is bad and its good that Park Chan-wook removed all that from the movie.
Screenplay by Park Chan-wook and Chung Seo-kyung is excellent. There are very good twists in the movie especially the first one which is from the novel. The second twist and the final twist are good too. Cinematography by Chung Chung-hoon is excellent. The movie is beautifully shot. The movie is a bit slow paced but builds up a good atmosphere. Editing by Kim Jae-bum and Kim Sang-bum is very good.
Kim Min-hee was very good as Lady/Izumi Hideko. Kim Tae-ri was excellent as Sook-hee and looked very pretty too. Ha Jung-woo was good as Count Fujiwara. Cho Jin-woong was excellent as Uncle Kouzuki. Kim Hae-sook was good as Madame Sasaki. Moon So-ri was very good as Hideko’s aunt. Jo Eun-hyung was very good as young Hideko.
The Handmaiden is excellent. The movie works both as a thriller as well as a character study. It keeps you engrossed with the suspense and the twists. Though its not as great as Oldboy, The Handmaiden is a worthy followup from director Park Chan-wook.
Highly Recommended
Tags: Chan-wook Park Oldboy
