Writer/director Min Kyu-dong’s new action drama inverts the vengeance genre by focusing on the target, not the killer. That’s not immediately obvious, since that target is presented as a veteran badass assassin codenamed “Hornclaw” (Lee Hye-yeong). She’s been a deadly operative for 50 years, but is nearing the end of the road due to neurodegenerative decline. When a brash young upstart codenamed “Bullfight” (Kim Sung-cheol) joins her shadowy league of assassins, she realizes her looming retirement may be closer than she thought.
Buy The Old Woman with the Knife bookThe story is based on the bestselling novel of the same name, adapted by Min (Memento Mori) for the screen. His take on Hornclaw doesn’t satisfactorily explain why she has stayed in her dangerous line of work her entire life. She was rescued by the organization’s former leader as a teen, a nice girl down on her luck who only followed him into a life of crime out of her deep respect for his direct role in saving her life. However, when the leader was subsequently killed, her allegiance to the organization seemingly would have ended, leaving her free to pursue a normal life. Instead, she carried on through the decades as an emotionless assassin for hire, renowned in the underground for her impeccable professional skill but totally alone in her cloistered personal life.
The entry of the much younger Bullfight acts as her inflection point, as she knows her time is drawing to a close but also senses that he isn’t to be trusted as her replacement. When she gets injured in action and gets patched up by a kindly veterinarian, the vet and his family become the latest targets of her strict “no witnesses” organization, putting her in direct opposition with Bullfight as he attempts to carry out the hit while she strives to protect the innocents. After a lifetime of no attachments, she’s suddenly driven to help someone, even at the certainty of great peril to herself.
Lee is likely best known to U.S. audiences for her star turn in prolific minimalist Hong Sang-soo’s In Front of Your Face, another role focused on looking back and reconciling her past, but one that gave no hint of her grit and total believability as a compelling debut action star. At the same age as Michelle Yeoh and Tom Cruise, she’s another strong example that seniors aren’t all ready for the retirement home, tackling an intense workout of a role that required her total commitment regardless of how many stunt people assisted with the most bone-crunching work. Her laser focus pays off, with her steely-eyed gravitas captivating viewers from the first scene and never letting up.
Meanwhile, Lee’s performance as Bullfight is fine if unspectacular, with him gamely hitting the right notes for his unhinged character but not quite generating audience sympathy during his surprisingly tender moments. He’s just not all that convincing as either a demented killer or a broken boy in an adult’s body, especially when facing off against Lee’s commanding performance.
While the film soars due to Lee’s masterful work, the body of the plot seems to be missing some connective tissue. Scenes are sequenced somewhat haphazardly, occasionally failing to establish character motivations or timelines in a cohesive flow. The story bounces back in time a few times to color in some of Hornclaw’s backstory with younger actors and occasionally a de-aged Lee, with each return painting a bit more but never quite enough. Most of the pieces are there, but the editing leaves a bit to be desired, leaving it to viewers to sort through the confusion. However, by the time we get to the film’s showpiece action scene at a derelict amusement park, Min seems to have abandoned logic for spectacle, delivering a blistering and satisfying finale that is so well done that story lapses are largely forgiven.
The film can be interpreted as a tantalizing take on Tarantino’s long-rumoured Kill Bill Vol. 3, namely the story of what happens when the child of a victim grows up and comes back for revenge on the killer. Bullfight’s late but teased reveal as the child of one of Hornclaw’s many victims packs an effective gut punch for Hornclaw, temporarily repositioning her as a secondary character in his quest for vengeance. When the two killers ultimately face off as equals, one or both may have reached the end of the road.
Korea seems to have cornered the market on vengeance dramas over the past couple of decades, and this one is a solid addition to their impressive collection. It’s a lesser entry to the likes of Park Chan-wook’s Vengeance Trilogy, I Saw the Devil, and Deliver Us from Evil, but even a slight misfire hits on more dramatic cylinders than most U.S. attempts.
The Old Woman with the Knife is now playing exclusively in theaters. For more information and showtimes, visit the film’s website here.
