Oldboy

The more I think about OLDBOY, the more I like it.

I knew the movie's premise going in: a guy's imprisoned for 15 years with no explanation, no words from his captors, and no clue why such a fate has befallen him. Upon gaining his freedom, he sets out to exact his revenge. Armed with this knowledge, I expected a Korean version of the THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO, only with much worse food. Initially, OLDBOY reinforces this expectation, even referencing the novel at one point. Before long, however, the film subverts both the Monte Cristo story and many of the tropes of popular narrative film, taking us to wholly unexpected places. Events pile on events, decisions on decisions, and soon we find ourselves in a story that has more in common with Aeschylus than Dumas. Gripping, provocative, and thoughtful to the end, OLDBOY succeeds on every level.