The Agelessness of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy
Oldboy rides violently on its characters' emotional distress and burns out to a hypnotic ending. The improbability of its ending doesn't take away from its brilliance.
“Bad man don't exist. No evil man exists I know good man don't exist. No righteous man exists. Strong man don't exist. No undying man exists. Weak man don't exist. No, just flesh and blood exists." — Frank Ocean (Wiseman)
Oh Dae-su, the protagonist of Park Chan-wook's fierce and bloodletting thriller Oldboy (2003), is a foul-mouthed fool and a furious madman with clenched fists.
The film tells the story of Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik), an impertinent, caustic man whose unbridled tongue is so powerful that it impregnates a lady and also takes her life. Many years later, when Oh Dae-su has forgotten about the atrocities of his tongue, he is abducted by an unknown man and imprisoned for 15 years as a punishment for his refusal to tame his unruly tongue. After many years of mental torture, physical deterioration, and emotional wreckage in detention, he is released with no explanation for his crime.
After gaining his freedom, Oh Dae-sue embarks on a journey to discover the reason behind his abduction and detention, with the aim of gruesome revenge. As he travels back to meet old friends and acquaintances, his character shifts from a foul-mouthed fool into a calm but clenched-fisted detective, a symbol of his unyielding decision for truth and vengeance. As he goes deeper into his investigation, he discovers that he is abducted because of his rough behaviour and corrosive tongue. To him, that's a trivial reason for wasting 15 precious years of his life. But to his abductor Yoo Ji-tae (Lee Woo Jin), Oh Dae-su deserves eternal punishment for impregnating his sister Jin Seo Yoon (Lee Soo-ah) with his unbridled tongue which leads to her death.
After rigorous research, Oh Dae-su discovers the identity of his abductor to be Yoo Ji-tae. Burning with anger, Oh Dae-su wants to destroy Yoo Ji-tae but unknown to Oh Dae-su, Yoo Ji-tae has meticulously sets up Oh Dae-su's daughter Mi-do (Kang Hye-Jung) in a mesh of affairs that will destroy Oh Dae-su forever.
Yoo Ji-tae's diabolical strategy to destroy Oh Dae-su and his methodical execution of it make him as complex and compelling as the protagonist. His actions are a reflection of the film's central theme of the cyclical nature of revenge and the consequences it imposes on those in pursuit of it. That's clever storytelling and character development, which is perfectly executed by the protagonist and the antagonist.
One of the things that make Oldboy stand out as a film is its agelessness. The story is timeless and universal, with themes of revenge, identity, and the search for the truth. These themes are explored in a way that is raw and emotionally powerful, making the film just as relevant and impactful today as it was when it was first released.
Choi's performance is nothing short of breathtaking. He seamlessly embodies the various facets of Dae-su's character, from the manic rage to the heartbreaking vulnerability. His portrayal captures the audience's empathy, even as Dae-su's actions become increasingly violent and morally ambiguous.
Woo-jin Lee, played with chilling brilliance by Yu Ji-tae, is the embodiment of calculated malevolence. His role as the antagonist is a mesmerizing study of psychological manipulation. Woo-jin orchestrates Dae-su's captivity and release, methodically engineering every facet of his life. His plot to destroy Dae-su is a symphony of diabolical deceit, slowly and insidiously pushing Dae-su to the brink of madness.
The film's violence is unapologetic, visceral, and a testament to Park Chan-wook's directorial prowess. Every frame is a deliberate choice, and the cinematography is a gruesome reflection of darkness and light, mirroring the thematic duality of the characters.
Jointly written by Hwang Jo-Yun, Lim Joon-Hyung, and Park Chan-wook, Oldboy's stunningly detailed characterization, detailed and reality-warping plot, and pleasantly unnerving defiances between illusion and dream are commendable.
The film's third act defies convention in a way that makes the work stand out from others. From the stellar and shocking final-act twists that recontextualize what we've seen in the last two hours to an ending that doesn't tie everything up in a neat little package. Sometimes this subversion of expectations can be thrilling in that it leaves an eternal space for conversations on the significance of cinema in our society.
This is not a film for the faint of heart, but it is an unforgettable cinematic experience that challenges, provokes, and leaves an indelible mark on the viewer. Through the protagonist's relentless quest for truth and revenge and the antagonist's brilliantly orchestrated plot, the film delves deep into the human condition, exposing the inherent flaws and frailties that drive us to our darkest extremes. It is a cinematic masterpiece that lingers in the mind long after the credits roll, a tell-tale of the enduring power of storytelling in its most raw and unflinching form.
Oldboy rides violently on its characters' emotional distress and burns out to a hypnotic ending. The improbability of its ending doesn't take away from its brilliance. Despite all the complexity and layers in this revenge story, this is a film both compelling and unsettling, earning it a place as a true masterpiece.