[Herald Review] ‘Revolver’ a slow-burning noir complete with icy protagonist, diverse characters

“Revolver” may give you a sense of an action-packed revenge noir, but the movie is about a former policewoman on the trail of vengeance. It’s a thriller -- or even a psychodrama -- revolving around a fearless woman obsessed with one goal: Getting her money back.

Though ex-cop Ha Soo-young’s (Jeon Do-yeon) motive behind chasing after the some 700 million won ($509,447) she was promised in return for taking the rap and going to prison remains unclear to viewers, director Oh Seung-wook portrays Soo-young as a ruthless, cold-blooded woman who ultimately triumphs despite her unethical past.

As the simple plot develops, Jeon's build-up for her character’s arc throughout the 125-minute running time is well-calculated and gradual. She is a woman of few words, calm, understated and never sentimental. She is not someone consumed by rage. Rather, she is someone who sips her whiskey, takes out her revolver and stares at it. Though her empty eyes gradually turn icy, it doesn’t mean that she plans to use the gun to kill someone.

Some may find her one-by-one visits to people involved in the 700-million-won promise unnecessarily slow, but this development triggers a catharsis at the movie's climax when they have all been gathered together.

The climactic showdown between Soo-young and Andy (Ji Chang-wook) and his men is a solid note on which “Revolver” can end.

Reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, all sorts of characters from extreme ends gather in one space, creating commotion in this black comedy-like scene. The meeting of Soo-young, Andy, Soo-young’s former colleague Dong-ho (Kim Jun-han), a bar hostess Yoon-seon (Lim Ji-yeon) and her former partner Mr. Cho (Jung Man-sik) is the highlight of the movie's tragicomic elements, loosening the tension that had been sustained until then.

Besides Jeon, whose weighty acting once again leads the story, “The Glory” heroin Lim Ji-yeon’s portrayal of bar hostess Yoon-seon, revitalizes the story's development. Initially hired to monitor Soo-young, Yoon-seon grows sympathetic toward her and Lim's subtle expression of the characters' confusion -- around whether she is an enemy or an ally -- is well-transferred to the screen.

Ji's Andy, whose behavior is both supercilious and immature, is another eye-pleasing aspect of the movie. The actor's hysterical and sensitive portrayal of Andy brings the story to life, further justifying his actions to the audience when he reveals the twist in the end.

Special appearances by actors Lee Jung-jae and Jeon Hye-jin, whose roles and backgrounds are never fully explained, keep the movie’s mood mysterious.

“Revolver” opens in local theaters on Aug. 7.