Yes, it was melodramatic, but what did you expect ? You can't have THAT plot and not include sad scenes. But it wasn't as melodramatic as the other reviews say. I too thought it'd be 20 episodes of "oh no I'm gonna die" but not at all. The plotline is so much more than just the main character having an uncurable illness, and we barely even see the illness's effects during most of the drama.
Besides, it looked genuine (thanks not only to the script but also to Woobin's acting), and I think it's the most important when knowing the difference between a bad melodrama and a good, sad drama.
Both the beginning and the end were genuine and amazingly done. The middle did look a little messy, but how can you miss out on that drama just because it's "too melodramatic" ? I strongly recommend it, and I think it could suit anyone's taste since it's not just romance or tear-drop-material.
Story :
The first part of the story is satisfying - we don't have to wait to learn about the illness since it's known since the very first scenes. There's nothing in the first episodes that frustrated me. The flashbacks are well done and there's no unnecessary flashback-related cliffhangers but there's still more to learn after every episode. The beginning is really interesting and well paced. I couldn't believe the episodes weren't 20 minutes long. The fact that they focused on the documentary and on the main characters wwas something I appreciated.
But then comes the second part, and it got a little bit boring, with many, many, many scenes of the Choi family doing their boring stuff. It doesn't help the plot either, it's just like it's a side plot that will eventually come in handy. I skipped some of those scenes to be honest and it never affected my comprehension of the main plotline. Talking about the main plotline - the main character gets hard to understand and relate to. It's frustrating because everything could have been so much easier with just a little communication but no !! He has to do dumb stuff !! Anyway, during the middle part, we barely even hear about the illness and the documentary (which were the plotlines I craved for). It transforms into a thriller. I liked it, but I probably won't remember half of what happened in those side-plots in a week.
And then, the final part.. cleared up all the built up frustration of the middle part. No more useless scenes, back to talking about the documentary a little bit, back to talking about the illness and actually being ill. I finally could get attached to some of the side characters. I cried a lot tbh.
Overall, I'd say that the story gets a little... distracted ??? in the middle, but it helps to show how determined the main character is to clean up his mess before leaving. It is frustrating, and the relationship between the two main characters is a little weird, somehow obsessive, but interesting. I liked it. I also like that we knew how it was going to end, from start to finish, it was clear, and helped guide us through the more prone-to-confusion side-plotlines
Cast :
Suzy was okay, the actress who played Joonyoung's mom was great and overall most of the characters related to No Eul and Joon Young were good actors, But!! There are two actors I really didn't appreciate : im joo hwan (choi ji tae) and Im ju Eun (Yoon Jung Eun). Choi Jitae was hard to play since he's already a blank character, but I really didn't feel like he suited the role at all.
I'm still giving a great note because Kim Woobin's acting was amazing. His sleeping face is more expressive than the whole Choi family (except Haru). He's a great actor, what more can I say.
Music :
The songs weren't outstanding but the ambiant sounds were great at building up tension subtly. It wasn't too "in-your-face" but I feel like they did a great job on the sounds, more than on the songs (not saying the songs weren't good - they were - but I think I'll mostly remember the small ambiant details rather than the main OSTs)
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The male main character made many decisions that were not understandable at first and later you were able to understand it a bit... but not totally.
It was very heart- and nerve-wrecking.
But one thing I have to admit: it was that good and exciting that I finished this drama in just 4 days! (Still in pre-Christmas-exam-period, so it is fast!!)
All actors did a great job! I was so impressed that they acted with emotions that seemed so pure and realistic.
The story line was very exciting and I cried soooo many times, which I normally don't, cause I know that it's not real... I always had to "wake myself up" that I'm back to reality after watching it.
Heartbreaking, but awesome Drama!
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Story was pretty tearjerking, what would someone do when diagnosed with terminal disease? Worry about fulfilling his life, or worry about who he is leaving behind...?
I know many people didn't like kim woo bin's character but you have to imagine how far he's pushed into a corner, his eyes tell hundreds of words just by looking into the camera. The others were each perfect in their roles too.
The soundtracks were perfectly timed to the scenes and forces the manliest man to cry like a little girl. Every time I hear Little Braver I remember so many scenes.
This is a MUST watch if you're into melodrama, get ready to cry your eyeballs out.
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And how many times was the FL going to stand outside ML's house sulking and hoping to be let in like a lost puppy?
This drama wasn't for me.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sad But Beautiful Story
I have read many of the reviews of what many thought about this show, and whether certain situations were unnecessary or not. But for me, I couldn't care less about how the story should or had unfolded. After completing this drama all I have to say is it conveyed quite a powerful and meaningful message to me.It provokes the idea of what one would do with the limited time they are given. The story begins with our main lead playing out a role for an action film in which he is scripted to die in the end but faced with his own reality of having a terminal illness he exclaims "I don't want to die like this". Of course, given his situation, this drama then ends with the death of our actual main lead in the final episode. There were a lot of complicated and unforeseen turns of events that played throughout the series but ignoring all that, we were left with the raw context that was being directed toward the viewers. What would we do if were told our time was coming to an end? In a way, the show demonstrates to us the scenario of our two main leads and how they chose to deal with their situations. Whether the choices they made were right or wrong, it became clear what each character was lacking was the acknowledgement and appreciation of each other's presence within their lives. Our male lead's mother filled with her own desire to be acknowledged by his father didn't cherish her son enough before coming to realise it, and our female lead didn't appreciate her father's effort to make a living for them enough until his sudden death. Our male lead chose to ignore his feelings or conscious and continued to live a somewhat reckless but abundeful life and therefore only focused on his success and ignoring the suffering of others who weren't of his concern. All it took to change the fates of those around him was the notice of his limited time.
Not everyone's life is a drama and therefore many forget that we face life and death on the daily basis. Each time we cross the street without the use of traffic lights, each time we stand underneath or near construction site on levels above ground level, each time we use our phones while driving, or drink our sorrows away. From the moment we awake to the moment we sleep we are on the verge of death, yet many of us live unfulfilling lifes that only continue to drain the very life within us like a terminal illness. This was what I believed this drama was conveying to its veiwers as I went from episode to episode. It was this final message that help me veiw this story as a Sad but beautiful journey of life.
If you don't believe me, don't take my word for it and try the drama yourself. Unlike me you may come to hate it or you may find it boring and too dramatic but you'll never know till you give it a try just like everything else in life.
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Like i said above i loved the realistic ending, and also that when he wasn't being a jerk to her their relationship seemed really genuine and cute :)
But other than that Kim Woo Bin was AMAZING in his character portrayal as always, and as you've seen in my ratings i really loved the cast, i feel like every character had a purpose to the storyline unlike some dramas where you just find yourself fast forwarding scenes that include that random character and their story. Even though i don't think i will re-watch it (don't think i can go through all that crying again), its definitely become one of my favourite dramas so far, and would highly recommend you watch it!
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We all know how melodramas work and Uncontrollably Fond doesn't go astray from it - a lot of sadness and angst and some comic relief here and there. The drama doesn't give you anything you haven't seen before - but at least it doesn't make you frustrated, which is a really positive point for me.
I know a lot of people have been bashing Suzy for her acting, but I don't think she did bad. If you compare her to many of the supporting roles, she was actually great - but since the supporting characters are the comic relief, I'll just let the cringeworthiness of their acting aside.
Kim Woo Bin actually surprised me - I had only seen him in Heirs, and wow, with Uncontrollably Fond he actually made me cry. My favourite moments were his character's interactions with his mother.
All of the other leads did well. I was touched by their stories and I think that's enough.
What I really liked in Uncontrollably Fond is that the characters are real. Even though most of them are cliches we already know (and sometimes, hate - I'm looking at you, evil mother-in-law), they weren't completely good neither completely bad, all of them had their motivations and I appreciate that.
Also, the carefully placed flashbacks were amazing. The quick snipped from the previous episode every drama has before actually jumping to new developments of the story always had something to add, and I loved it.
Finally, for all these weeks I've been on this drama's protection squad. "You should watch it"; "it's not bad"; "you'll like it". And these aren't lies, at all. I can't say I didn't enjoy myself, it was a good drama; not exceptional, but good. I had fun, I rooted for the characters and felt the story with them. But, unfortunately, the last episode just killed it for me. All of the feelings and motivations and any curiosity you could gather from it just fell flat - I liked almost everything throughout the ride, but the end of it was disappointing. Everything was tied loosely, like the writer was in a hurry to finish it. It felt rushed and incomplete.
All in all, my point of view of the drama is currently being tarnished by the fact that I didn't like the last episode, but it may be worth a shot. I only warn you to prepare yourself for the feels, because it's everything really sad; Uncontrollably Fond lets you forget it is a melodrama just for a few moments before throwing you a bomb of emotions.
P.S.: I must say I'm completely in love with the soundtrack. It was carefully placed and A Little Braver is currently my new favourite song.
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The first maybe 10 episodes (I can't remember exactly) are as depressing as you'd expect from your average melodrama, but each episode always gave you a little bit of excitement, love or cuteness to keep you going. And it did keep it going for me - in fact, I raced through the first half of this drama loving it despite how much it hurt me. However, getting into the second half of the drama it became too much for me. It gets to the point where you feel so overwhelmed by how depressing it is that it's a struggle to continue watching due to the heavy depressing weight that sits on your heart while you watch.
A lot of melodramas have this depressing middle where almost everything could be solved by one person saying something instead of keeping secrets (etc.) so believe me I still had hope for this drama right till the final episode; a hope that, like in a lot of melodramas, either everything would work out in the end or, in this case, the satisfaction from things wrapping up would give you a feeling that all the hurt was worth it. It's a melodrama so of course you expect hurt and to cry a lot, but I thought that after they wrapped everything up I'd feel some kind of relief or satisfaction for the characters that everything they went through was worth it... but, alas, the ending, to me, felt just as depressing as the rest of the drama.
I may, at some point, re-watch the first half of the drama for the cute moments that hooked me in, but I don't think I'll ever re-watch the rest of it - it's too depressing.
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About acting skills, most of characters are well developed, even Noh Eul (Suzy). Some people seem to criticise her acting skills but Suzy's character is not as demanding in script as Kim Woo Bin's character (although they have both tragic backgrounds)
In the matter of music I loved it. It has a good selection and is very recognisable when you hear it.
About watching it again.. NO. I was really tormented, the story is indeed a huge pile of problems and excruciating moments that I don't want to suffer again. I totally recommend this drama but watch it through only once.
Most of people are very severe with this drama because of the ending. It's not what the majority wanted it to be and I believe it's also the reason why Kim Woo Bin came forward apologising for his choice in doing this drama (which I don't see why he has to, really. I didn't want it to happen either but you deal with it)
I loved the drama.
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