Fantastic!
Well-written, elegant, and unpretentious.
The writing, pacing, and (above all) the acting deliver some fine entertainment in this drama. But, sadly, we viewers have to wade through some tired tropes and overused plot devices to get to the good stuff. More about that in a moment.
Why is everyone wearing mostly black and white in this drama? Apparently that seems to be the fashion in Korean work culture these days. And you can see why--black stands for simplicity, elegance, formality–and conformity.
On a more granular level, Ju In-A is a monochrome kind of person–acting in deference to the company logic–at least that’s how it seems at first. The corporate culture at Haemu strives to control every aspect of each employee’s behavior, stifling everything unconventional, quirky, and human.
But there’s another side to Ju In A–and we see it most clearly when Noh Ki-jun discovers her somewhat unconventional hobby. This black and white woman begins to turn into a fully fleshed out human being.
Shin Hye Sun reveals all the nuances of Ju In-A’s character little by little. Noh Ki-jun is a wonderful partner in this transition. They play off each other better than any two leads I’ve seen in recent dramas.
My only complaint is the succession of banalities that even a drama as excellent as this one seems to feel it necessary to display.
If I see one more prefabricated plot element, where, for example, the ML tries to hook a toy with a mechanical claw for the FL or shows he cares by applying a bandage to a wound you can’t see without a magnifying glass--or someone in a drunken stupor has to be carted home by someone else with a secret crush on that person--I swear I’ll call the cliche police.
Other than that–fantastic job, movie makers!
The writing, pacing, and (above all) the acting deliver some fine entertainment in this drama. But, sadly, we viewers have to wade through some tired tropes and overused plot devices to get to the good stuff. More about that in a moment.
Why is everyone wearing mostly black and white in this drama? Apparently that seems to be the fashion in Korean work culture these days. And you can see why--black stands for simplicity, elegance, formality–and conformity.
On a more granular level, Ju In-A is a monochrome kind of person–acting in deference to the company logic–at least that’s how it seems at first. The corporate culture at Haemu strives to control every aspect of each employee’s behavior, stifling everything unconventional, quirky, and human.
But there’s another side to Ju In A–and we see it most clearly when Noh Ki-jun discovers her somewhat unconventional hobby. This black and white woman begins to turn into a fully fleshed out human being.
Shin Hye Sun reveals all the nuances of Ju In-A’s character little by little. Noh Ki-jun is a wonderful partner in this transition. They play off each other better than any two leads I’ve seen in recent dramas.
My only complaint is the succession of banalities that even a drama as excellent as this one seems to feel it necessary to display.
If I see one more prefabricated plot element, where, for example, the ML tries to hook a toy with a mechanical claw for the FL or shows he cares by applying a bandage to a wound you can’t see without a magnifying glass--or someone in a drunken stupor has to be carted home by someone else with a secret crush on that person--I swear I’ll call the cliche police.
Other than that–fantastic job, movie makers!
Was this review helpful to you?
