Decision to Leave Movie Review

Decision to Leave [헤어질 결심] (2022)

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Written by: Park Chan-wook, Chung Seo-kyung
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Starring: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains develops feelings for the murder suspect, the man's mysterious wife.

Verdict
The first half of this movie is the typical story where an investigator becomes too close to a suspect. This is well made and plotted, so it doesn't drag. It just feels too typical. In the second half the investigator begins to doubt her innocence, wondering if his conclusion was premature. It's unfortunate the entire movie doesn't have the energy of the latter half, but this does end really well. It's tragic and memorable; unfortunately it doesn't do enough to boost the rest of the movie.
It depends.

Review
The literal translation of the title is "resolution to break up."

A guy falls and and dies while mountain climbing. His initials are on all his belongings. Even his wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei) has a tattoo of her husband's initials. Detective Jang (Park Hae-il) initially investigates the wife, wondering why she was with the deceased who was much older. We're wondering if the relationship was abusive, especially due to the tattoo. Seo-rae was an immigrant and her former husband treated her like a human despite the conditions in which she arrived to the country.

Go Kyung-pyo, Park Hae-il, play Det. Soo-wan, Det. Jang Hae-jun

Often in movies an investigator tracks a suspect and through that becomes interested and even fixated. Jang acts on impulse and becomes close with his suspect Seo-rae, though he has concluded she is innocent of the crime. Still, it's never a good idea to mix personal and business even if the case is closed.

What helps this is the attention to detail and careful plotting. Park Chan-wook also directed Oldboy, but this just doesn't have the same punch.

Tang Wei, Park Hae-il play Seo-rae, Jang

Jang is spending time with Seo-rae despite already being married. He basically has a weekend wife as she works out of town and he's almost always on a case. It's already a murky situation with Jang spending time with another woman, and she happens to be a former suspect of a case that hasn't been solved. Jang is quick to help her out, but through that he finds information that makes him doubt his initial conclusion that she's innocent. While the audience was initially sympathetic towards her, now we wonder about the sincerity of her actions. Were they intended as we first perceived them or were they self serving? Jang has to be wondering that too. Was she stringing him along? He doesn't want to believe the evidence, but it is compelling.

This is a question of where's the line. He cleared her, but even then should you pursue a relationship? If Jang does pursue it, will he always have some amount of doubt? The second half is better than the first. While you need the foundation, it just feels so normal. It's the second half that starts generating question and doubt. Could Seo-rae have come up with such a complicated plan? It does end well; powerfully and tragically.