MattPeddlesden
Kent, UK
Short: Brilliant. Thoughtful. Beautiful music. Really enjoyed it and became more hooked to see what happens next as each episode progressed. - not normally one I would have picked because of the topic, but so glad I watched it.
Detailed:
So, the tags for this one include things like Infidelity and Corruption, and I saw others using words like "Revenge" - I must admit I hadn't seen this one as a likely hit for me. I like positive dramas and after watching a couple of Revenge ones I found they're just not to my taste at all. But... it was listed on a recent article on this site in a list of five dramas, four of which I had seen and agreed wholeheartedly with the article author - so I felt that surely this one must be a good bet. I thank the author, Devil's Advocate, for their recommendation!
The infidelity topic is a sensitive one, it's not something I'm normally interested in watching either because often it's somewhat sleazy or purely sexual - and while i'm certainly no prude, it's just not what I come to KDrama for. I was interested to see how this was portrayed, and also because dated in 2014 before Adultery was decriminalised (Korean Penal Code 241), how/if they would handle the criminal aspect of it.
This is a slow paced drama, it's about the imagery of what you're seeing, how you take in the emotions and feelings of the characters and understand what they are going through. Where this one takes it a step further however is through the use of music, particularly the Piano - my favourite instrument. It was a joy to watch the actors perform on the Piano, I don't know if they are as classically trained as it appears but at the end of the day that doesn't matter, they are believable in their performances with keystrokes matching the sounds and the raw emotion of the pieces expressed throughout their whole body movements as they played. When a musician plays a piece of music, they don't just play the Piano with their fingers or hands, it's played with the entire body, and that's exactly how they portrayed it. There was a particularly brilliant scene early on in the drama where the two are playing a two-person piece together on the same Piano and it's super obvious that it's a sexually charged scene with all the energy that implies and yet there's just two people playing the Piano.
Throughout the drama there are many times that you'll be sitting and listening to the music, whether it's because that's what is happening in the story or because there's something else going on and the music is accompanying. You're going to want to like slower contemplatory scenes with the music to listen to or you may find your focus drifting away, personally I was captivated.
The director has also done a magnificent job, the scene where they first get together in his home, with some seemingly random stationary camera shots at various objects around the room you almost feel like you're in the room looking around at anything you can to not look at the two, but you can't help but hear odd things that they say. It was probably one of the better ways i've seen of expressing that "they hooked up" without going anywhere near anything traditional for this. The rest of the drama continues with a similar quality approach.
The FL goes through a personal journey of discovery about what is important to her, and where she is in her life and her status. While the ML's character is great he is there to shine a light on her life, this is her story more than it is theirs.
They DO cover the criminal aspect of Adultery as well just to resolve the point I raised earlier.
Many recognisable faces in the cast but I absolutely felt that Kim Hee Ae was glorious in her performance and I shall certainly be looking out more from her (and indeed the director).
Only minor dent for me? and it really is minor given the weight of the rest of the story - I just like them to end a little longer, it was a nice ending but I wanted more. Maybe I just didn't want it to end. I'm like that when I get into good characters in a good story though.
I loved it and certainly recommend it.
Detailed:
So, the tags for this one include things like Infidelity and Corruption, and I saw others using words like "Revenge" - I must admit I hadn't seen this one as a likely hit for me. I like positive dramas and after watching a couple of Revenge ones I found they're just not to my taste at all. But... it was listed on a recent article on this site in a list of five dramas, four of which I had seen and agreed wholeheartedly with the article author - so I felt that surely this one must be a good bet. I thank the author, Devil's Advocate, for their recommendation!
The infidelity topic is a sensitive one, it's not something I'm normally interested in watching either because often it's somewhat sleazy or purely sexual - and while i'm certainly no prude, it's just not what I come to KDrama for. I was interested to see how this was portrayed, and also because dated in 2014 before Adultery was decriminalised (Korean Penal Code 241), how/if they would handle the criminal aspect of it.
This is a slow paced drama, it's about the imagery of what you're seeing, how you take in the emotions and feelings of the characters and understand what they are going through. Where this one takes it a step further however is through the use of music, particularly the Piano - my favourite instrument. It was a joy to watch the actors perform on the Piano, I don't know if they are as classically trained as it appears but at the end of the day that doesn't matter, they are believable in their performances with keystrokes matching the sounds and the raw emotion of the pieces expressed throughout their whole body movements as they played. When a musician plays a piece of music, they don't just play the Piano with their fingers or hands, it's played with the entire body, and that's exactly how they portrayed it. There was a particularly brilliant scene early on in the drama where the two are playing a two-person piece together on the same Piano and it's super obvious that it's a sexually charged scene with all the energy that implies and yet there's just two people playing the Piano.
Throughout the drama there are many times that you'll be sitting and listening to the music, whether it's because that's what is happening in the story or because there's something else going on and the music is accompanying. You're going to want to like slower contemplatory scenes with the music to listen to or you may find your focus drifting away, personally I was captivated.
The director has also done a magnificent job, the scene where they first get together in his home, with some seemingly random stationary camera shots at various objects around the room you almost feel like you're in the room looking around at anything you can to not look at the two, but you can't help but hear odd things that they say. It was probably one of the better ways i've seen of expressing that "they hooked up" without going anywhere near anything traditional for this. The rest of the drama continues with a similar quality approach.
The FL goes through a personal journey of discovery about what is important to her, and where she is in her life and her status. While the ML's character is great he is there to shine a light on her life, this is her story more than it is theirs.
They DO cover the criminal aspect of Adultery as well just to resolve the point I raised earlier.
Many recognisable faces in the cast but I absolutely felt that Kim Hee Ae was glorious in her performance and I shall certainly be looking out more from her (and indeed the director).
Only minor dent for me? and it really is minor given the weight of the rest of the story - I just like them to end a little longer, it was a nice ending but I wanted more. Maybe I just didn't want it to end. I'm like that when I get into good characters in a good story though.
I loved it and certainly recommend it.
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