Solid film-making and thrilling story-telling

Rating: 8/10 (27 October 2006)

Oldboy tells the story of a man imprisoned for fifteen years for crimes unknown to him. Oh Dae-su has five days to find out who incarcerated him and why. Starting from the helplessness of a clueless man stuck in a cheap hotel room, Oldboy shows Oh Dae-su's growing schizophrenia over the duration of his jail-time culminating in ruthless vengeance in finding and eliminating his enemy. Gory and explicit at most times, Oldboy spares no effort in telling the story as naturally as possible.
Fans of the Chekhov's Gun school of thought (season three of Lost, woo hoo!) should find Oldboy squarely in their alley. Numerous clues are dropped throughout the movie, providing an interesting exercise for genre fans to sleuth around. The protagonist is just as blank about his predicament as the audience, and both of us start on his journey of revenge and retribution with a clean slate. The movie keeps you on the toes at all times with its carefully crafted suspense. The tension mounts slowly, but surely, as the different pieces of the puzzle gradually fall in place. Admittedly, I didn't consider Dae-su's crimes to be a big shocker. But at the end of the day, the film is more an exploration into social mores and adventurous film-making than just a stomach-churning twist ending.
So with all these kind words, why does the movie not get a perfect score? The violence in the movie, which is talked about much, does not seem as hard-hitting as it should have. Even the most gory scenes are easily digested. More effective violence rather than plain gore would have better suited the film. The editing could have done with some more work. At close to two hours, the movie does seem to stretch a little. And finally, it would have been really good had the kicker been more potent.
Oldboy is a well-told tale of schizophrenia, vengeance, and morality. A fairly simple tale of revenge is wound into a more complex tale of trickery, paranoia, and a bunch of twists. Recommended!