Director: Won Shin-yun
Notable Cast: Sol
Kyung-gu, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Seol-hyun, Oh Dal-su, Hwang Seok-jeong, Gil
Hae-yeon, Kim Han-joon, Shin Ki-joon, Kim Dong-hee, Kim Jung-young
After Well Go USA released the initial trailer for Memoir of a Murderer, I felt a tad
underwhelmed. In many ways it looked like a less intense cross breeding of the
phenomenally hard hitting I Saw the Devil
mixed with the gimmicks of Memento.
Yes, both of those films are fantastic, but considering the hype I had been
hearing for Memoir, it did seem a tad
underwhelming in the grander scheme of things. I guess I just have never
learned my lesson. Never, ever underestimate the effective execution of a South
Korean thriller. Not only does Memoir of
a Murderer live up to the comparisons to both I Saw the Devil and Memento with
the style and approach of its plotting, but it soars on its own powered by
emotionally intense performances and one of the most engagingly shifty
narratives to grace cinemas this year. Memoir
of a Murderer is a thriller of the highest caliber ready to leave its viewers
breathless and spinning in their own thoughts.