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Rite of passage: an adult woman becomes a real adult.
"The Crush"(Yes, you will hate the sound. After a few tries I found the endless piano playing version was the least tiring).
(Also: This review is based on a heartfelt recommendation I gave to a fellow cdrama-fan in youtube comments, it does not include a synopsis of the story).
The theme is about an age-gap relationship (FM much older than ML) and it focuses on the characters' journey, shining a very humanistic light especially over the FL's inner conflict and her growth.
Maybe you could sum it up as "an adult woman becomes a real adult", because it is actually a rite of passage to real independence.
It is also an unfolding of the FL's understanding of the what really being in love means (the difference between love and eros).
The artistic means are as simple as they can be, which is a plus from my POV for any work of art.
I initially stopped watching it during the first scene, annoyed,I guess because the sound was so bad; but there was something interesting in that first scene, so after a while (a few days) I sat down and watched it. And so glad I did.
When it finished I had this sense of tranquility and fulfillment that you get as a teen when you have just finished a good book. Serenity and wisdom gained. A wider view on things.
In all creative aspects (minus the sound) it is more like a film in small chapters than a drama. Nothing fake or forced, no lack of connectivity of parts (not referring only to the story parts, but to all elements of which it is composed). Flowing storytelling with nothing boring or distracting. Well balanced. Meaningful.
(It was also really refreshing that FL and ML were normal working class folks, with bills to pay, it is becoming a rarity lately!).
Many thanks to the people who worked hard to make this drama, hope you enjoyed its making and that you will have the strength to continue making beautiful works of art!
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Pseudo-incest, cute couple
As with most dramas it starts well and loses its tempo after a while. The wrap-up was somewhat ok though. Anticipated (and would have enjoyed) an overflow of different near-intimate scenes, but, alas, this wasn't the case. But the existing scenes were ok (though repetitive)!Yes (yes-yes!!!)
Love the widowed sis-in-law - brother in law forbidden love. The ML-FL couple does bring to life the relationship.
ML gives a good overall performance, with some moments of more refined acting.
Storywise, besides the bitchy antagonist 3FL there is also another antagonist 2FL who is cool (sister power vibes).
The actor playing the ML's subordinate was interesting actingwise.
Settings and costumes not the best, not memorable, but good enough most of the time.
Not so much yey...
Some repetitivness and boring writing did allow for some yawnings, and at times camera angles really didn't do justice to the actors.
Also, felt that the director could have helped FL and ML bring out a range of more, and more subtle, facial expressions, given the many layers of antithetic feelings the two characters faced and the two actors' performances.
A decent watch.
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Rebirth, revenge, cute couple, bad scripy
Writing this review because I felt it was unfair that the actors, and everyone else, were really dragged down by the poorly written story. I would recommend watching it only if one wishes to see the actors' work evolution.It's the standard rebirth and revenge trope, the FL getting revenge against 2ML, in a school setting, while finding her true beau simultaneously. The script is very-very heavy on the sadistic part and very light (almost non-existent) on the romantic (erotic) part.
Pluses:
Acting fairly good, given the poorly written dialogues and characters, and the young actors' ages 'n' relevant experience. I also liked the FL-ML chemistry and flow. The support characters had good positiong and movement skills too.
Though an evidently low-budget production, the costumes and settings seemed to have been chosen with care, not in a generic way. Nothing great to look at, but decent enough to carry the story (without my eyes rolling now 'n' then with great question marks!).
Storywise, it was nice that though the 2FL was nasty, she stopped being so, upon learning the truth. No catfights there.
There were some nice directional choices, especially some camera angles and staging during the first sequence.
Minuses
The script. Firstly, it is totally devoid of logic at many points, important ones for the story included. Moreover, the FL and the 2FL are very inconsistent characters.
Secondly, there is no balance, it is a drama for 16+ in terms of violence and dark themes and deeds, but a story for 8 year olds romantically-wise. Apart from the heart-wretching first sequence kisses, since there was no strong romantic tension to counter all the negativity, the whole thing felt, well, negative really. (But the FL and ML really did their best to overcome the script problems).
All in all, everyone tried to overcome the badly written story, and I feel much respect for their effort.
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