Summary
A Korean take on a familiar crime thriller is a slick affair, with a solid cast and a few twists along the way.
What is it that fascinates us about people getting rich by skirting the law? From Wall Street to The Wolf of Wall Street, money talks to audiences. MONEY (돈) is the Korean take on the Icarus story, as yet another wide-eyed newbie tries to fly too close to the sun on wings made of multi-coloured won.
The Bud Fox of the film is Il-Hyun (Ryu Joon-Yeol), a young broker who makes a terrible mistake early in the piece. He gets a lifeline from the mysterious Beonhopyo (Yoo Ji-Tae), or “Ticket,” who ropes him into a stock market scheme. His bad luck turns and he is suddenly getting all the big commissions.
Much of the first half of the film follows his spectacular rise in the world, complete with the obligatory buying of things, high-priced apartment settings, and fast living. (If it was set in Australia, smashed avocado would also be purchased). Things take a turn towards thriller territory, and for Il-Hyun, when Financial Supervisory Service officer Han Ji-Cheol (Jo Woo-Jin) starts sniffing around the trail that the broker is leaving behind.
MONEY is the debut feature for director Park Noo-Ri, although she has finely honed her visual craft as an assistant director alongside Ryoo Seung-Wan (The Unjust, The Berlin File) and Han Dong-Wook (Man in Love). Working with cinematographer Hong Jae-Sik (A Melody to Remember), she creates a visually rich palette, filled with all of the totems of the 21st century. At one point, Il-Hyun looks around the street and spots all the prices of things appearing like a cross between AR and an IKEA catalogue.
Much of the appeal of the film comes from its charismatic leads. Fresh off a string of hits, Ryu Joon-Yeol (Believer, Little Forest, A Taxi Driver) manages to stay likeable despite playing a character who skims a thin line between morality and criminality. The popular Yoo Ji-Tae (The Swindlers) is perfectly cast as the ostensible villain of the piece, although who is to say he is any more upstanding than anybody who is willing to gamble the money of other people for personal profit?
MONEY may not buy you love, but it definitely buys you a good time for a short spell. While the shopfront may feel familiar, and no new ground is broken along the way, there’s a satisfying conclusion and a justified comeuppance. Who knows, maybe director Park will return in 20 years with Money 2: Money Never Sleeps.
2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Park Noo-Ri | WRITERS: Park Noo-Ri | CAST: Ryu Jun-yeol, Yoo Ji-tae, Jo Woo-jin | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia 2019 (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 22 August – 12 September 2019 (KOFFIA)
