Cannes Review: Park Chan-Wook’s ‘Decision To Leave’

Detective Hae-joon is investigating the death of a man who fell from a mountain in Park Chan-wook’s latest film in competition at Cannes, Decision To Leave. It’s been six years since the director’s last movie here, The Handmaiden, which made a splash in 2016. Will Decision To Leave get the same unanimous applause? Well, that depends if you like the whole movie or just parts of it. I am in the latter category. Is it as strong as some of his other films? No, but the characters make taking the entire two-hour and 18-minute ride to the end worth it.  

Seo-rae (Tang Wei), is now a widow. Her husband tumbled off of a cliff accidentally. Or did he? Hae-Joon (Park Hae-il) starts to suspect Seo-rae to be the killer. He has a reason, as her affect is flat when a woman should be grieving over her husband, right? This doesn’t stop Hae-joon who begins to fall to the point of obsession. Seo-rae’s quiet and mysterious demeanor is intoxicating to a man who is used to having all the answers. As the investigation drags on, Hae-joon’s life begins to unravel and his stalkerish behavior becomes noticed by Seo-rae who begins to play into it.

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He’s so enamored with her that he doesn’t realize he’s screwing up the whole investigation and can’t go forward with it without things looking suspicious on his end. Even his detective partner calls him out on how he’s handling this case and showing favor to the suspect. To get free of her, Hae-joon and his wife, (yes, he’s married), move to another location.

But getting rid of Seo-rae isn’t going to be easy. Where at first she was just toying with the detective, she begins to feel the same way, but now he’s gone. The lengths we go to for love… It is here the audience learns about about Seo-rae’s past, and how she got caught up in this drama. The complex, subtle emotions that tie these two characters together are a noir mix of romance and intrigue that don’t always gel during the entirety of the film. 

The first 80 minutes are tightly paced, sexy and smart. Park crafts and frames his characters in strategic ways that inform the audience of what’s going on inside their heads, while injecting bits of sarcasm and humor to break up those serious moments. There is a sensuality in every move, and every glance. Park even manages to fill a police interrogation with sex.

The building blocks to discovering who the major players are, are laid bare so the audience can enjoy living with these characters. Hae-joon and Seo-rae are complete opposites but compliment one another. He’s a straight-laced, by-the-book cop who loves his job, and she’s a bad girl femme fatale who attracts the wrong type of men. Going on this journey with these two is a wild ride. That is, until the second half of the film approaches and things dive off a cliff (no pun intended).

Elements of the film that felt even, become disjointed. Decision To Leave jumps all over the place, and exposition scenes have to remind viewers where it is in the timeline. The shooting style that once felt exciting, feels erratic at this point as the camera starts moving like a tennis ball at a Serena Williams match.

And, the second major reveal is underwhelming. I refused to accept it, and refused to take it seriously (yes, even in the world of Park Chan-wook). While his films tend to always go on for 30-minutes longer than they should, he still wraps it up in a satisfying way, but for Decision To Leave, the conclusion is emotionless and didn’t leave an impression on me.

The women of the film are its most valuable asset, particularly actress Tang-Wei who is extraordinary. She appears demure on the outside but explodes with sex appeal without trying. There is a reason why Ang Lee chose her as lead in his film Lust, Caution. She’s got that something and it’s unclear why she isn’t a Hollywood star yet.

After parsing my thoughts, I’m going to go in favor of the film, only because that first half is stellar. Others may see Decision To Leave and disagree with my stance. See it for the performances, the laughs, and everything that makes Park Chan-wook one of the world’s most celebrated directors. Maybe I’ll give it another look down the road and change my mind. But, for now, I’ll stick with voting down the middle while enjoying it more than I disliked it.

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