Classic Hollywood Via Contemporary Korea
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Park Chan-wook became celebrated as one of the bad boys of Korean cinema with his gruesome Vengeance Trilogy (“Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance,” “Oldboy,” and “Lady Vengeance”), as well as subsequent genre provocations such as the vampire film “Thirst,” his English-language thriller “Stoker,” and the historical lesbian romance “The Handmaiden” (this critic’s particular favorite of his oeuvre). “Decision to Leave” continues Park’s development in “The Handmaiden” as a romantic storyteller, but also signals a move away from the shock and brutality that characterized his previous films.

You could say “Decision to Leave” is to Park’s filmography as “Jackie Brown” is to Quentin Tarantino’s: still operating in the same style and genre interests, but with significantly more restraint than usual. There are images of dead bodies and some brief fights, but no gore that would make you turn your eyes away; there’s one humorous non-graphic sex scene to establish Hae-jun’s struggling marriage, but most of the actual passion is chaste. This is might be the first Park Chan-wook film the average viewer could show their grandparents without complaint.

The classical Hollywood influences of “Decision to Leave” are many, from the similarly intense affair in David Lean’s “Brief Encounter” to the mariticidal allure of Billy Wilder’s “Double Indemnity.” More than any other examples, however, the film to which “Decision to Leave” most directly draws comparisons is Alfred Hitchock’s “Vertigo.” There’s the cop protagonist spending his time following a woman of interest around before getting more closely involved with her life, a suspicious unexpected reunion after a period of depression and separation, fears of heights, people throwing themselves into the ocean, dramatic dolly zooms, and memorable green dresses.

Even with its old-fashioned narrative influences, “Decision to Leave” is firmly set in the present day with an emphasis on how technology impacts the investigation. Locked phones, text messages, and step counters become valuable clues. Park’s regular usage of low-angle shots frames scenes from various unusual perspectives, and when these perspectives come from the perspective of a phone, “selfie” imagery has never looked better. If Alfred Hitchcock had an iPhone, this might be close to the type of movie he would make.

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