High Society (2018) – Korean Movie Review

High Society 상류사회

Directed by: Byeon Hyeok (변혁)

Starring: Park Hae-il (박해일), Soo Ae (수애), Yoon Je-moon (윤제문), Ra Mi-ran (라미란), Lee Jin-wook (이진욱), Kim Gyu-seon (김규선), Han Joo- yeong (한주영)

The Film: “Why, did you think that only the Chaebol lived without fear?” Tae-Joon (Park Hae-il), an economics professor who is both admired and respected by his students, enters the political sphere as a promising rookie by happenchance and ends up running for office in the National Assembly election.
Meanwhile, his wife and Vice Curator of Mirae Art Museum, Soo-Yeon (Soo Ae), attempts to use this opportunity to secure her position as Chief Curator. However, evidence of shady transactions between Mirae Group and the Democratic Nationalist Party behind Soo-Yeon’s art deals and Tae-Joon’s run for office begin to surface and jeopardize the couple’s entry into the perfect “high society.”
Soo-Yeon and Tae-Joon, who cannot afford to lose this opportunity under any circumstance, approach Mirae Group and the Democratic Nationalist Party with a new proposition…Enter the most beautiful yet dirtiest place.

Review

Tae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a respected university economics professor who by happenstance finds himself as the front-runner nominee for an upcoming national assembly election. Mirae Group, a wealthy conglomerate with ties to organized crime, takes a great deal of interest in Tae-jun because of his proposal for a new kind of bank he would like to see created that would help smaller companies hold their ground against the giant corporations that move in to wherever is deemed the newest and hip place, thus stripping the area of its original authenticity; a sort of “Starbucksification” if you will. Mirae Group and its criminal ties of course see other more nefarious possibilities for this new bank idea of his.

Tae-jun’s wife Soo Yeon (Soo Ae) is highly ambitious in her career goal of becoming the director of the Mirae Art Musuem which is run by the head of Mirae Group’s wife (Ra Mi-ran). As shady dealings between Mirae Group and the Democratic Nationalist Party begin to surface surrounding Soo Yeon’s art deals, pressure begins to mount and both Soo Yeon and Tae-jun soon find themselves in hot water.

High Society was advertised as sort of an erotic drama film, and there was even a 19+ (or Red Band) trailer for the film here in Korea. So the general idea might have been, even if the film may not be so good, at least maybe there might be some fun to be had with the sex appeal, right? Well, the film turns out to not be so hot and steamy after all. The sex scenes are brief, and few and far between. The one sequence that really stands out is more of a sideshow attraction than anything (borderline pornographic), that doesn’t include the lead characters or main relationships developing in the main story. You’ll know it when you see it, it’s a slimy one…

The two leads, Tae-jun and Soo Yeon, each find themselves in an extra marital affair that of course ends up complicating their ambitions. Tae-jun with his attractive young secretary (Kim Gyu-seon) and former student who is given unusually high clearance in the corrupt dealings between Tae-jun’s campaign and Mirae Group, and Soo Yeon with the handsome and prestigious multi-media artist (Lee Jin-wook). These relationships feel forced and can be seen coming from a mile away. As supporting characters whose purpose is merely to spice up the film as well as give both the lead characters their points of weakness that later need be turned into strengths in order for them to survive just comes across as heavy handed.

The head of Mirae group is played by Yoon Jae-moon who for my money was the most interesting character overall albeit a supporting one. He’s just the right amount of odd that make his scenes at least somewhat interesting to watch. The main characters, while not completely bland, are seriously lacking in flavor. Acting is more often awkward than not. Soo Ae, who played Soo Yeon in particular, felt very miscast in this one. The part did not suit her very well as she comes off as being slightly uncomfortable in the role.

High Society would have worked better if it pursued it’s eccentric side more. Like when one character dons an orange jumpsuit and tiger mask seemingly straight out of the Mexican Pro Wrestling scene and takes part in some good old-fashioned gangster beat-downs, or when the film delves deep into the Mirae Group CEO’s sexual proclivities, the film has its moments where it almost finds its own identity. But unfortunately the film spends more time missing the mark trying to be taken seriously as a critique on the allure of high society and all its corrupting and destructive influences, making its wackier moments stand out as simply bizarre and unfitting.

Save for some interesting sporadic visual art performance pieces being worked out by Ji-ho, an artist with whom Soo-yeon gets involved with played by Lee Jin-wook, High Society is sorely lacking in any kind of enjoyability and is underwhelming in almost every category. If the film ran further with its eccentric side and fully embraced the erotic drama genre, it may have found a place to call home. Instead, it floats out in the ether of identity crisis territory. For those super curious about the sex scenes, perhaps just skim through will suffice with this one? But honestly, I wouldn’t even bother with it. SCORE: 4/10