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 ell Me Something" is an interesting thriller
about a serial killer who is offing (and then dismembering) the ex-lovers of a
beautiful young woman. Not satisfied with just cutting them to pieces while
they're still alive, the killer delivers the bodyparts in black bags to
different parts of the city to be discovered, and it's up to the cops, led by
Cho (Suk-kyu Han) to, quite literally, piece together the evidences.
Up front, let me say that "Something" is a
laborious crime drama and its investigation is plodding at best and terribly
dull at worst. With almost 2 hours of running time to play with, the movie can
afford to develop its primary character, Han's Cho, who we first meet as a
disgraced detective taking bribes from the mob in order to pay for his mother's
hospital bills. Under investigation by Internal Affairs, Cho is informed by his
higher-ups that if he can crack this case, he will have been redeemed. Rather
this is true or not doesn't seem to matter.
Writer/director Yoon-hyun Chang really takes the time to
set up Cho as a person first, and a detective second, but unfortunately he fails
to do likewise with the film's other characters. Of particular note is Hang-Seon
Jang, who plays Cho's right-hand man Detective Oh. The Oh character is onscreen
for a long time, sometimes proceeding with the investigation on his own, but we
know next to nothing about him except that he likes peanuts. And I think he has
a daughter. I think.
On more than one occasion "Something" threatens
to become a South Korean version of David Fincher's brilliant and atmospheric
"Seven," also about a serial killer and a plodding investigation. The
rain-soaked streets and nights of "Something" are quite well done, and
the film really excels in creating atmosphere and somber moods. Credit goes to
cinematographer Sung-Bok Kim, who makes rain and star Eun-ha Shim look beautiful
whenever they appear onscreen.
The film is bolstered by a "twist" ending that I
didn't see coming; actually, even the identity of the serial killer, who I was
certain was a particular character, turned out not to be so. If just on those
merits alone, "Something" deserves some brownie points. It's not often
that a mystery manages to keep its secret from me, but "Something"
did, and its many red herrings are used to great effect. In fact, the film turns
the tables on armchair Sherlock Holmes like myself more than once. Bravo for
that.
The cast in "Something" is also strong. Leads
Suk-kyu Han ("Shiri")
and Eun-ha Shim ("Art
Museum by the Zoo") had previously co-starred a year ago in a fantastic
film about life and death and all things in-between called "Christmas
in August." There is a slight reversal of characters here, as Han steps
into the role of a tough cop and Shim the femme fatale. Both carries their roles
off well, although Shim's docile portrayal of a woman stalked by an obsessed
serial killer is sometimes snooze-inducing. Still, she's charming and easy
enough on the eyes to keep us riveted and interested in her plight and
background.
Despite all of those pluses, there are a number of plot
contrivances in "Something" that reek of lazy writing and threaten to
torpedo the whole film. The most notable of these contrivances concerns guns. In
one sequence of events, a cop gives his gun to a civilian for the civilian's
protection; moments later, the cop finds himself in dire straits because he
doesn't have his gun with him. Of course this is done in order to throw
suspicion on the civilian as a suspect, but why in the world would a cop hand
his (and apparently only) gun over to a civilian and then wander
off into a dark, rain-soaked alley when he knows a serial killer is on the
loose? If one foolish scenario wasn't enough, the screenplay throws in yet
another sequence where another cop hands his weapon over to someone else
for protection, and then wanders off into a dark room with a serial killer on
the loose!
Forgive me for saying so, but I believe it's time to take
another look at that South Korea police academy training manual concerning the
possession of one's weapon, eh?
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