‘The Merciless’: visually lush, short on script
SEOUL: Jae-ho is a merciless underboss in a crime ring who trusts nobody. Hyeon- su is an undercover officer who has no one to depend on since his mother died. They meet in a prison, open their minds to each other and survive crises together while not knowing of a deadly catastrophe approaching.
The crime- action film ‘ The Merciless’ definitely draws comparisons with other undercover movies like the 1997 American film ‘ Donnie Brasco’, the 2002 Hong Kong movie ‘ Internal Affairs’ and the 2012 Korean film ‘New World’. They derive much of their appeal from suspenseful moments in which the protagonist narrowly escapes fatal exposure.
While not short of that kind of tension, however, ‘ The Merciless’ focuses rather on the weird symbiotic relationship between two men who call themselves “abandoned bastards.” In fact, the cop’s identity is revealed at an early stage, which can hardly be called a spoiler.
Jae-ho ( Seol Kyung- gu) is a callous No. 2 man in a drug trafficking ring which is based in the southeastern city of Busan and stretches out to Russia. In prison, he yields regal power, having even detention officers under his control. He believes in nobody because of his rough childhood, and such wariness enables him to survive in the tough criminal world.
Bromance
To him, the presence of Hyeonsu ( Im Si-wan) poses a new test. After Hyeon- su saves his life from a knife attack, Jae-ho begins to develop trust in others for the first time.
Hyeon-su, a young and fearless detective, infiltrates Jae-ho’s group, which operates under the cover of a trading company. The two guys then develop an endearing “bromance” with each other while working together. But they find out each other’s hidden ambitions and their relationship begins to crack.
As its writer- director Byun Sung-hyun said in press events, the movie is an action noir in a style that has not been seen in Korean cinema before.
It features some characterful comic book style jail and action sequences and awesome visual impacts from the use of varied colours. For instance, the contrast between a vivid red-coloured sports car parked outside the prison and its wild and exotic landscape gives the impression that the film is set somewhere that never existed in the real world.
Out - of - competition screening of Cannes Film Festival
Nonetheless, its cross- cutting between the present and the past feels superfluous. This can create confusion among some audiences, at best.
And the whole plot point of the undercover police officer quitting his job to become a freshman thug makes the overall story a bit hard to swallow, because the audience doesn’t know what’s happening in his mind simply based on what is shown on the screen.
‘ The Merciless’ is set to open in local theatres on May 18. It will also be shown in the out- ofcompetition Midnight Screening of the 70th Cannes Film Festival that runs from May 17-28.