Directed by: Jung Ji-woo (정지우)
Starring: Choi Min-sik (최민식), Park Shin-hye (박신혜), Honey Lee (이하늬), Ryu Jun-yeol (류준열), Lee Soo-kyung (이수경), Park Hae-joon (박해준)
The Film: Based on the Chinese film ‘Silent Witness’ written and directed by Fei Xing, ‘Heart Blackened’ is a dark and gritty courtroom procedural featuring powerful acting and an engaging yet overly drawn-out series of dramatic twists and turns. The Korean title of the film literally translates to “Silence.”
When the CEO of a giant gaming company, Tae-sun (Choi Min-sik), announces his engagement to the much younger and successful former singer, Yuna (Honey Lee), the high-profile couple make waves in the headlines. But Tae-sun’s adult daughter, Mira (Lee Soo-kyung), and Yuna fail to see eye to eye and their relationship becomes strained. One night, Yuna goes to meet Mira at her request hoping to reconcile their differences. The next morning, when Mira is picked up for drunk driving and Yuna is found dead, Mira becomes the lead suspect in the sensational murder case. With Mira claiming to have no memory of the previous night, her father Tae-sun, with all the money and influence in the world, will not rest until the truth of that night is revealed.
After some setting up, Heat Blackened really begins when Mira’s father, Tae-sun, decides to hire Mira’s old school friend, Hee-jung (Park Shin-hye), a young and unestablished lawyer to defend his daughter in court. Hee-jung takes over as the main character in Heart Blackened as she works every angle to investigate holes in the prosecution’s case, even acting the part of detective at times piecing together clues and pursuing persons of interest. Tae-sun’s mysterious motives for hiring Hee-jung are just the tip of the suspicious nature of his character. His desire to use his vast wealth to control and influence every aspect of the trial will keep viewers guessing whether Tae-sun’s motives are purely to protect his daughter or if something more nefarious is at work.
Heart Blackened is largely a courtroom drama in which Mira is prosecuted by the state for Yuna’s murder. And even without being very knowledgeable in the Korean judicial system, Heart Blackened seems to be making full use of its creative license. In the way that various witnesses and evidence is introduced in the courtroom, or how the film completely ignores key details in putting together a cohesive timeline that would effectively make the murder trial more cut and dry, the filmmakers clearly favor dramatic effect over realistic legal technicalities. But if able to suspend disbelief and just strap in for the ride, the drama stays gripping as the revelations continue to unfold, making Heart Blackened one of the better crime dramas out there.
Reuniting with director Jung Ji-woo 18 years after making Happy End (1999), veteran actor Choi Min-sik (Oldboy, 2003; I Saw the Devil, 2010) is a force of nature as he plays the heavyhearted Tae-sun. As a man who puts money above all else and with the world at his fingertips, Tae-sun’s world is turned upside down. After losing his fiance, the woman he loves, and potentially his daughter now too pending the result of the trail, he learns that there are some things money cannot buy him. Choi Min-sik is one of the best living actors capable of expressing that deep pain buried beneath a hard exterior. Next to Failan (2001) and Crying Fist (2005), we can add Heart Blackened as another such top performance.
The supporting cast is also more than impressive. Park Shin-hye (Cyrano Agency, 2010) playing the defense attorney and Park Hae-joon (Fourth Place, 2016) as the prosecutor have good screen chemistry as they go head to head in the courtroom while also forming a dynamic out of courtroom relationship. Lee Soo-kyung playing Mira is especially convincing as her character shows signs of multiple personalities, with a spoiled and cruel side that contrasts well with an otherwise innocent and naive one. This makes her a very hard character to place judgement on as the trial unfolds. Lee Soo-kyung’s performance here also earned her an award for Best Supporting Actress at the 2018 Baeksang Arts Awards.
But perhaps the most entertaining character has to be the Yuna stalker whom Tae-sun tracks down for questioning and played brilliantly by Ryu Joon-yeol (Believer, A Taxi Driver). For such a heavy film, his kid-in-a-candy-store walk through Yuna’s old wardrobe as part of a deal to get him to cooperate with Tae-sun is welcome comic relief no matter how creepy the actual act may be.
Heart Blackened will keep you engaged and constantly reevaluating predictions for the film’s ending for a good 90 minutes. Unfortunately, with a 125 minute run-time, the third act feels unnecessarily bloated and attempts to spell out a lot of what viewers will most certainly be able to piece together for themselves. So despite some phenomenal on-location photography and top-tier performances, this makes the home stretch of the film a bit of a chore to sit through.
Overall though, Heart Blackened is one of the better dark dramas I’ve seen in a long while and stayed in my head for long after it finished. If you can give the film some leeway in its hyper dramatized judicial proceedings and enjoy it for the crime thriller it is, Heart Blackened comes very recommended. 7/10 – performances & dramatic reveals on point!
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