A Brilliant, Disturbing Thriller

Rating: 9/10 (19 May 2014)

I have to admit, in the first hour I was worried that this film would be another "Kill Bill" in that it would be a shallow, formulaic revenge flick made in a highly stylized manner. I could not have been more wrong.
"Oldboy" starts out in predictable fashion, as we see the film's protagonist Oh Dae-Su (Choi Min-Sik) captured, put through 15 years of imprisonment, and then released with a burning desire to hunt down and inflict revenge on his captors. However, as I would discover, there is more to the situation than meets the eye, and Oh Dae-Su is in for a shocking discovery.
As brutal as the film is, and believe me it is brutal, the film in directed and shot quite beautifully. Park Chan-Wook crafts an almost surreal atmosphere at times, which when coupled with the film's rough, violent tone draws comparisons to both Miike Takashi's "Audition" and Nicolas Winding Refn's "Pusher." Park's use of classical music makes the film operatic in its brutality. It's clear to see why Quentin Tarantino is a fan of the film.
Also worth mentioning are the performances by Choi Min-Sik, who fully embodies the character of desperate, tortured, "monster" of a man, and Yu Ji-Tae, whose portrayal as the film's villain is truly chilling.
"Oldboy" is an incredibly cruel, and violent film. However, if one can stomach the images that Park Chan-Wook brings to the screen, the pay-off is a brilliant, disturbing thriller.