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"The Housemaid" Falls Flat

Roselle Chen |
January 20, 2011 | 11:58 p.m. PST

Senior Entertainment Editor

The Housemaid (IFC Films)
The Housemaid (IFC Films)
“The Housemaid,” directed by Im Sang-soo, is a remake of the 1960 black and white version of the same name. It opens Jan. 28 at the CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles.

The remake is beautifully shot with an even pace and impeccable character development.

But even with all its techniques, it couldn’t save itself from the horrible ending it inflicted on its viewers.

What was disappointing about the movie was that it could’ve ended on such an adept and well executed note, but instead it fell flat on its face and you’re left with nothing but a vague sense that maybe the director doesn’t know the meaning of revenge.

I don't think you're supposed to take this movie seriously, it was at times purposely campy and over the top, but it feels as if it wants to be taken seriously in some scenes and I was confused with the director's intention.

It reminded me of David Fincher’s “Panic Room,” where the entire movie except for the last 15 minutes was excellent, then the ending completely ruined what the rest of the movie worked so hard to build at.

“The Housemaid” is about Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon), an innocent thirty-something-year-old lady who works as a live in housemaid for a wealthy family. The husband, Hoon, and wife, Haera, look beautiful and kind on the outside, but are soulless and satanic on the inside.

Eun-yi starts an affair with the husband and things go haywire from there. Byung-sik (Yun Yeo-jong) is the older housekeeper who knows the family’s dark past, but she stays loyal to them presumably for the money.

Byung-sik is all sorts of slippery. You don’t know if she’s good or bad or like most people, a combination of both in varying degrees. Yun plays her so well that she became the most likeable character in the movie, even though she’s not clearly defined as a good person.

What was so good about the characters though, was that you saw the clear distinction between evil and good; rich and poor. The rich are beyond terrible and the poor are simple and full of love.

Some may say that that's what they don't like about Haera (Woo Seo), Hoon (Lee Jung-jae) and Haera's mom (Park Ji-young), but that's one of the things I enjoyed about the movie. They were so ridiculously two-dimensional, especially Haera's mom, that they seemed almost like cartoon characters than actual people. There's the vast divide between characters, and you feel strongly for the "right" side.

I initially thought the bad ending was the director’s way of keeping it close to the original version, but after reading the original’s plot and spoiler, it sounds like a much, much better movie than what the remake tries to be. It’s amazing to me that Im didn’t stick with the original’s ending; it could have saved his movie.

The plus side is that I would recommend everyone to watch the original version of “The Housemaid” from 1960, directed by Kim Ki-young. Meaning, symbolism and cleverness all come into play in the original, and you understand that Kim wanted to make a good film.

Reach Roselle here.
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