Title – Decision to Leave (2022) 

Director – Park Chan-wook (Oldboy)

Cast – Park Hae-il, Tang Wei, Go Kyung-Pyo

Plot – Investigating the death of a climber in remote wilderness, Korean detective Jang Hae-joon (Hae-il) gets involved with the dead man’s wife Song Seo-rae (Wei), a mysterious woman who migrated from China years ago. 

“Don’t talk about our time like that”

Review by Eddie on 20/09/2023

His first home country feature since 2016’s highly regarded classic The Handmaiden, esteemed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook once more returns to the moody and atmospheric work he is known and loved for with dramatic mystery Decision to Leave, a layered and at times convoluted exercise that ends up being more style over substance. 

Winning the coveted Best Director award at 2022’s Cannes Film Festival for his work here, Chan-Wook is at least operating a much more engaging level than he was delivering with his English language feature Stoker in 2013 and his 2018 mini-series The Little Drummer Girl with Leave one of the mist visually arresting and energetically directed films of the last 12 months with Chan-Wook once more showing why his one of the best directors working today but sadly Leave’s narrative and central characters are not a strong suite for the film. 

A complicated story that on paper may seem like a simple detective gets caught up with the wrong person type set-up that is anything but as Chan-Wook explores mid-life crisis, failing marriages, the nature of identity and some Guy Ritchie like foot chases amongst the notable aspects of Leave’s story but while its all lavishly put together there’s something slightly amiss with Chan-Wook and Chung Seo-kyung screenplay and the ability for Leave’s central duo to carry the film from its many various destinations it launches from. 

As troubled detective Jang Hae-joon, Park Hae-il doesn’t make for the most engaging or solid central figures. Tasked with a lot to do from Chan-Wook, Hae-il struggles at times to keep his head above water with the work of the usually comedy focused Tang Wei the highlight of the film in an acting sense with her portrayal of the anything but straight forward Song Seo-rae a fine dramatic performance from the actress but still one that is built around a character it would’ve been nice to care more for. 

Somewhere in Leave is both a film that would work as a crime thriller, something that would’ve had us guessing at every movement who or what might be the culprit and also somewhere else is a film that may’ve worked as a doomed romance between star-crossed lovers but Chan-Wook is unable to bring these elements together making Leave an pretty and professionally put together piece but one that lacks the heart and soul the director has found in his other most notable works.

Final Say – 

Decision to Leave is a frustrating feature that wants to be many things at once. As good of a film you’d get in an aesthetic and production sense but a film that fails to inspire narratively, Park Chan-Wook’s newest venture showcases a director in charge of his craft but not as well-polished in his characters and emotional core. 

2 1/2 fighting gloves out of 5