[Herald Review] ‘Perfect Proposal’ far from perfect

According to director Yoon Jae-gu, “Perfect Proposal” is two movies in one.

“The first half is a classic romance, while the second is a thriller,” he said at a press preview at CGV Wangsimni on May 28.

Unfortunately, the film fails to deliver on both counts.

Adapted from Catherine Arley’s story “La Femme de paille (Woman of Straw)” published in the 1950s, “Perfect Proposal” follows a young woman named Ji-yeon (Lim Soo-jung), a tour guide-turned-bartender trying to pay off her debts in Macau. Just when she feels backed up against a wall, she hears an intriguing proposal from Sung-yeol (Yoo Yeon-seok). Sung-yeol, who works as an assistant to the head of a giant casino group, offers to coach Ji-yeon and help her seduce the CEO Kim Seok-gu (Lee Geung-young). The plan is that she will marry Seok-gu, inherit his fortune, and give half to Sung-yeol.

Although the plot is obvious, and one that had already been recreated on the big screen in the 1964 film “Woman of Straw” featuring Sean Connery, there were hopes of originality in the all-star cast ― Lim Soo-jung, who returned to the screen after a three-year hiatus, rising heartthrob Yoo Yeon-seok, and the reliable Lee Geung-young.

But even these three talented stars fail to make their cliche characters convincing. Ji-yeon is anxious and fragile, Sung-yeol is confident and ambitious, and Seok-gu is aggressive and terrible. The ultrabillionaire Seok-gu finds himself drawn to Ji-yeon because ― not surprisingly ― she’s the first person who’s ever stood up to his bullying.

These archetypes could have been seen as being classic, rather than hackneyed, had it not been for the cringe-inducing dialogues. All three actors are fantastic without words, when they are conveying their characters’ emotions through their eyes and expressions.

Lim gives a particularly impressive performance as Ji-yeon, who starts off timid and afraid but eventually forces herself to do the most gruesome things in order to survive.

“When filming, Ji-yeon was a very different character from what I had expected,” said Lim. “I tried to see every situation for the first time, through Ji-yeon’s eyes.”

Unfortunately, her character is not buttressed by the cast of supporting actors. From the oddly multiethnic crew on board Seok-gu’s (less-than-impressive) yacht to the tight-lipped secretary who appears out of nowhere in the latter half of the film, all the supporting characters seem to have been randomly thrown into the mix for comic relief or perhaps a plot twist, but to little effect.

Like the lead actors, the supporting cast is strong, but unfortunately burdened with awkward lines and characters.

The one clear message that comes across in “Perfect Proposal” is neither of love, justice, nor ambition.

Instead, it was the director’s idea of a true Cinderella, which he described as being “not a woman of good fortune, but a woman who is ready to take great opportunities when they appear before her.”

“Perfect Proposal” opens in local theaters on June 4.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)