“Mr Lee vs. Mr Lee” (a.k.a. “Long Day’s Journey into Night”) from director Shim Kwang Jin is a dysfunctional family drama based upon the play “Happy Family” and loosely inspired by the life experiences of lead actor Lee Dae Geun. The film is certainly a very personal affair for Lee, whose soul-searching performance won him a Best Leading Actor nomination at the 44th Daejong Awards in a role which is a real departure for the former screen sex symbol.

Here he plays the Mr Lee of the title, an elderly man who attempts to gather his children together for a reunion to mark the anniversary of his wife’s death. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been the best of fathers, having spent much of his life away from them following his calling as a travelling musician, and so his family are rather reluctant to attend the gathering, especially since the last such event some years back resulted in a blazing row. His children certainly have problems of their own, with his eldest son (Lee Doo Il) embroiled in marital difficulties and his committed Christian daughter (Ahn Seon Young) getting caught up in an accident on the way to the ceremony. Putting further strain on the estranged family is the fact that the youngest son hasn’t been seen for years after losing all of their money, despite which Mr Lee hires a private detective to try and track him down.

After beginning in conversational fashion with some voice over narration to introduce the characters, “Mr Lee vs. Mr Lee” doesn’t waste any time in getting down to the airing of dirty laundry and the exploration of the themes of blame and guilt. Packed with reminiscences, it’s all quite sad and tragic, though like the central character himself, it is so in a respectable, dignified way, and is thankfully not too melodramatic aside from a few last minute tugs at the heartstrings. There is an unpredictable twist later on in the proceedings which is pretty bizarre and manipulative, though in the context it works well enough, at least enough so to add another layer of grief. The drama for the most part revolves around Mr Lee himself, though he makes for an interesting protagonist, a grumpy but vulnerable old man who has clearly been neither a good father nor husband, though who does appear to want to make amends, albeit on his own terms. As a result, the story is not a simple one of reconciliation, and the gradual revelation of the many skeletons in the family closet does make for engrossing viewing.

The film’s theatrical origins are obvious, and it does feel like a filmed play in places, taking place for the most part in one location with characters entering and exiting in fairly formal fashion. Thankfully director Shim prevents things from getting too static by interweaving the subplot with the detective’s search for the missing son into the narrative, which gives a few occasional breaks from the drama at the ceremony. He also includes a few visual flourishes to help make things slightly more cinematic, with some split screen work and sepia tinted flashbacks.

The film also benefits from a sense of economy, with the running time being kept to a lean hour and a half, meaning that there is little scope for wallowing or unnecessary soap opera style shenanigans. This is not to say that the film is too dry, as Shim does throw in a little comic relief, mostly in the form of Mr Lee’s useless cabdriver son in law, who has a tendency to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. Added to this are a few quirky touches, such as a grandson who shows up on horseback wearing historical warrior garb, and these too keep things moving along in entertaining fashion.

However, these are kept fairly subtle, and “Mr Lee vs. Mr Lee” is a pretty straightforward, mature drama that works as an honest meditation on the nature of family. Well acted and staged, although not offering anything particularly new, it is quietly effective and manages to get its point across with far less distasteful hysteria than is so often the case with films of this type.

Shim Kwang-jin (director) / Min Bok-gi, Moon Seong-je (screenplay)
CAST: Lee Dae-geun, Lee Doo-il, Jeong Kyeong-soon, Park Cheol-min