South Korea’s sharp, suspenseful thriller

The London Korean Film Festival is here and brings with it a wide range of extraordinary films that prove that South Korean cinema is churning out some of the best films internationally. The Housemaid, a taut, intricately-plotted erotic thriller, is the perfect example of a suspenseful rollercoaster ride that creates its thrills with a central plot full of twists, outstanding performances, sharp dialogue, evocative cinematography and, quiet but sensual atmosphere.

Eun-yi (Do-yeon Jeon) is a sweet, innocent and vulnerable woman who moves into the home of an incredibly wealthy, upper class family to work as their housemaid. As soon as she enters their marble-floored mansion, she realises that they are living in a whole another universe. Expensive bottles of wine and selection of cheeses are their midnight snack, their wardrobes are a sight to behold and they listen to classical music on their lavish, state-of-the-art stereo. Their extravagance goes on and on. Her bosses are Hoon (Jung-jae Lee) and his heavily pregnant young wife Haera (Woo Seo). Eun-yi also has a mentor in the know-it-all, cold-faced Byung-sik (Yeo-jong Yun), a prying old lady who has been serving the family for years.

Perhaps it’s because his sex life with his pregnant wife is proving to be too challenging and unfulfilling, Eun-yi is lured into an affair with her boss. One steamy and noisy night attracts the attention of Byung-sik and this of course leads to complications, which draw the women surrounding the handsome, narcissistic boss into a game of power play.

Haera is furious with her husband and wants revenge, but her chilling, manipulative mother (Ji-yeong Park) is more interested in how much Hoon has to offer. Haera needs to stay married to him, not just for money, but for power, and so should look the other way. It’s a woman’s duty, the scary lady explains. For these rich people, money is the answer to everything. Haera’s mother tries to pay Eun-yi off with quite a sum, but the pure-hearted girl cannot accept. Byung-sik is the one caught in the middle, and although she sympathises with Eun-yi, she cannot do anything to help her. It doesn’t matter that Byung-sik has a long-standing connection with the family: she is the servant and dares not to speak out against her employers. As Haera and her mother’s methods of trying to get rid of Eun-yi turn more and more violent, Byung-sik can only stand aside and watch with pain and guilt, as Eun-yi’s well-being is threatened.

The lavish set-design of the marvelous mansion, as well as the graceful cinematography that further amplifies the delicate and beautiful home further adds to the tension. This is one fragile house, gleaming with perfection. Quite often, it’s too perfect, and many dark secrets are hiding behind the perfectly hung pictures, chandeliers and expensive furniture. When there is so much passion, jealousy, lust, anger and devious back-stabbing, the house won’t be able to take it for long.

But it is the truly outstanding actresses that dominate the screen and portray their complex emotions exceptionally well. Jeon is fascinating in the central role, her doe-eyed, gentle nature remaining uncorrupted by the evil around her. She does get in the middle of a marriage, but never in the vindictive sense. Even when the affair is stopped abruptly, Eun-yi is not at all angry, just slightly confused as she goes back to her work, carrying on with her life as normally as possible. Jeon is utterly convincing as the victim, and as her character goes through major changes, everything that she portrays – ranging from vulnerability, to sexy, seductive energy to vengeful fury – is impeccable. Rich supporting roles are also anchored by the three terrific actresses (Yun, Park and Seo). The one who stands out is Yun, whose initial bitter personality is simply a cunning mask for surviving under the rich, pretentious family whom she secretly resents. Park’s blunt words spoken in such self-righteous tones rounds off the excellent cast.

Complicated twists and exciting revelations keep this film going and the build-up to the melodramatic finale is undeniably gripping. The ending will not satisfy everyone, since there is no murderous, bloody rampage that gives the feeling of fulfillment of revenge, but as far as Eun-yi’s character goes, what she does makes perfect sense. The subtle twists in camera angles, uncomfortable shades of dark colours and intense looks from the characters don’t cost a lot of money, but are certainly more than enough to get the pulses racing.