DECISION TO LEAVE gets 7/10 Police story

Directed by Park Chan-wook
Starring Park Hae-il, Tang Wei, Go Kyung-pyo

7/10

Murder mysteries can be so much fun, full of characters and story twists and unending series of revelations. Decision to Leave is certainly fun (mostly), focusing mainly on just two characters, but is filled with such a dizzying array of plot shifts, and the maximalistic manner of this filmmaking makes it even more exuberant.

Finding himself in not the best marriage, that’s also fairly sexless and reasonably distant, Hae-Jun (Park Hae-il) is a detective on the case of a man who fell, jumped, or was pushed from a small mountain he used to rock-climb on. He initially suspects the man’s wife Seo-Rae (Tang Wei) is the culprit, though as the case continues and more evidence and circumstances are revealed, the jaded and insomniac detective finds himself drawn closer to his suspect.

This film is brimming with story, with many twists and turns throughout. None of the revelations are too wild, but they keep the story going along, as well as the intriguing “romance” between cop and suspect. It doesn’t seem like the most heartfelt connection, but rather a connection based more on need than love.

Filled with all sorts of filmmaking/editing trickery to convey various instances of day-dreaming and parallel character paths, ie showing in one shot two characters in the same room, though at different times. This just adds to the hectic nature the film has, getting us closer to the clouded mindset of Hae-Jun, though it also adds a bit of confusion when it happens so much and so quickly and with little clarification other than voiceover to help us.

Writer-director Park Chan-wook has the money to make this production look so lavish and often entertaining and even exhilarating, such as the sequence showing the rock-climbing, which for its brief appearance is nail-biting. And the beach-side climax is astonishing, one of the most incredibly filmed and edited moments of cinema in 2022, even though this climax is a tad overdramatic and preposterous.

There’s quite a lot going on in Decision to Leave, both in story and filmmaking. The film does hold back in the right areas, letting the wash of plot lines do the talking, but this busy film is keen on keeping its audience captive – mostly.

DAVID MORGAN-BROWN

Decision to Leave plays at UWA’s Somerville Auditorium from Monday, December 26, 2022, to Sunday, January 1, 2023. For more information and to buy tickets head to perthfestival.com.au