Some of the raves coming in for Park Chan-room’s “Decision to Leave” are mind-boggling. US and UK film critics have gone gaga over it. Don’t buy it. If you speak to international critics, they are way more divisive towards it. And so am I.
When the lights went up last night at the Lumiere theatre, the applause for Park’s film was very weak. Don’t believe me? I was there. Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux had to pump the crowd up to continue the ovation. Then Park spoke, and said “thank you for watching my long and boring movie.” Of course, he was half-kidding, but you knew he felt the tepid atmosphere in the room.
The film is basically a Detective-falls-in-love-with-suspect mystery. A black widow noir, of sorts.
I am a fan of Park’s works, but this is the dullest movie he’s made. A tale of a doomed big city homicide detective in love with a widowed femme fatale. She killed her husband. He’s on the case, but doesn’t want to believe it.
Convoluted doesn’t begin to describe the plot for this one, it does get slightly better in its second half, but not anywhere near the tension needed to make it absorbing. Park does continue to be a master of framing and mode-en-scene, some of these shots had me wondering how did he pull that off? Alas, it’s all style and no substance. [C]