Sexually explicit, exquisitely filmed, quietly sensual, Park Chan-wook’s (loose) adaptation of Sarah Waters’ best seller is luridly mesmerising over its 150 minute run-time.
Told in three parts and set in 1930s Korea under Japanese occupation, the twists and turns of the intricate lesbian love-story-with-a-difference keep you engaged, even if some of the scenes are less than subtle. A tale of upstairs/downstairs, Soo-Kee (Kim Tai-ri) is hired as a handmaiden to Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee), a Japanese heiress. But Soo-Kee is involved in a plot to defraud her.
It’s languorous telling is a challenge but ultimately rewarding as The Handmaiden gently teases out its tale.
Rating: 71%
Director: Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker)
Writer: Park Chan-wook (Thirst, Oldboy), Chung Seo-kyung (Thirst, Lady Vengeance) – based on the novel by Sarah Waters
Main cast: Kim Tai-ri, Kim Min-hee (Right Now Wrong Then, The Sword With No Name), Cho Jin-Woong (Assassination, A Hard Day), Ha Jung-woo ((Assassination, The Yellow Sea)
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