Park Chan-Wook’s final chapter of his renowned “Vengeance Trilogy”, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a quirky, offbeat and absolutely irresistible thriller that endears itself to the viewers in spite of its violence-ridden subject matter. However, despite being a revenge flick, it is as different from its precursor Oldboy, as Oliver Stone’s Platoon was from Born on the 4th of July, even though both were deeply anti-war movies. While the former was as violent as a movie could get, in this one hardly gets to see much blood on screen. Yet both are connected by the common string of visual splendour. The over-employed tale of a falsely accused convict leveling the equation with his – in this case, her – perpetrator reaches an almost surreal, psycho-analytical plane as much because of its brilliantly stylized form as because of its deeply layered plot and character sketches. The movie is laced with a poetic amalgamation of screeching silences and evocative score, and interspersed with moments of great pathos with punches of a wicked sense of humour. Add to that terrific performances from every actor, especially by the beautiful protagonist (she's in fact so beautiful and innocent looking that she decides to put red lining around her eyes to look more cold and determined), and you have a movie as engaging as any in its genre. Whoever said “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” must surely be smiling in utmost appreciation.
To read a detailed review by me on the complete Vengeance Trilogy, click here.
Director: Park Chan-Wook
Genre: Thriller/Crime Drama/Psychological Thriller/Revenge Movie
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
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