Saturday Night At The Movies
Maid in Korea
By Dennis Hartley
Sonatas for the servile class: The Housemaid
So-are you searching for that perfect date movie for Valentine’s Day? Korean director Im Sang-soo’s film, The Housemaid (in limited release and on IFC pay-per-view) would probably not be my first recommendation (unless your short list of “perfect date movies” includes the likes of Angels and Insects and Crimes and Misdemeanors). However, if you are in the mood for a stylishly mounted mélange of psychosexual melodrama, psychological thriller, Greek tragedy and class warfare allegory, this could be your ticket.
An unassuming, angel-faced young divorcee named Eun-yi (Jeon Do-yeon), who lives in a dingy, low-rent apartment where she shares a bed with her mother, is offered a position as a housekeeper/nanny for a wealthy couple (expectant with twins) with a five-year-old daughter. Eun-yi eagerly accepts the job, exuding an almost child-like wonderment at her new employers’ palatial digs. Indeed, this family seems to “have it all”. The husband, Hoon (Lee Jung-Jae) is impossibly handsome; although it is never made quite clear as to what he does for a living (he does leave the house every day via limo, carrying a briefcase and at times surrounded by an entourage-but that’s all we’re given) he does carry himself with that self-assured air of someone who is used to always getting what he wants, when he wants it (more on that in a moment). His wife Haera (Seo Woo), looking to be in her third trimester, is young, quite beautiful, and has “high-maintenance trophy” written all over her. Every night after work, Hoon cracks open a vintage bottle from his wine cellar, and after sitting down to an opulent meal with wife and child, retires to his music room to play classical sonatas (note-perfectly, of course) on a concert grand piano. Now, I can guess what you’re thinking right now-likely the same thing I was thinking: “Oh…that is SO much like my life.” But, as a great lady once said (if I may quote Queen Eleanor, from The Lion in Winter) – “What family doesn’t have its ups and downs?”
There’s one member of the household who knows about all the “downs”. She is the long-time, long suffering elder housekeeper, Byung-sik (Yun-Yeo-Jong) who is giving Eun-yi the crash-course on how to best navigate her way through the family’s quirky waters. Outspoken and wryly cynical whenever she is out of the family’s earshot, Byung-sik is like the grizzled sergeant who knows exactly when to salute and precisely how much to defer-just enough to make the clueless captain think that he’s the one who is actually running the company. In the meantime, Haera and Hoon, while accepting of their new employee, essentially abandon her to Byung-sik’s tutelage and quickly set about ignoring Eun-yi’s presence in the room with that casually chilly aloofness the filthy rich traditionally reserve for the help. Their daughter Nami (Ahn seo-hyeon), on the other hand, reaches out to befriend the new nanny, reciprocated in kind by a delighted Eun-yi (although we are not sure whether this instant bond can be attributed to the non-judgmental mind of the five year old, or to the innocence of the childlike young woman).
Things appear to be going swimmingly, until late one sultry evening-when Eun-yi is startled awake by master Hoon looming over her bed, going for that frisky “Speedos and open silk robe” look whilst coddling an open bottle of vintage from the wine cellar (and two glasses). One thing leads to another, and…well, you can figure out the rest. Yes, Hoon is a creepy, arrogant rich prick with an overdeveloped sense of sexual entitlement-but we also find out that Eun-yi may not be quite as “innocent” as we initially thought. And when the clandestine (and careless) couplings eventually lead to the inevitable, erm, “complication” we really get to see all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out; especially when the megafauna viper of the (any?) family slithers into the pit-the Mother-in-Law (a scenery-chewing Park Ji-young, who may be channeling Livia in I, Claudius).
Gosh, one might assume from watching this film that the rich and powerful are generally concerned with little else in this life than remaining so, ever vigilant to decisively quash any threat of exposure or usurpation, no matter who or what gets hosed in the process (and anyone who follows world events and/or reads this blog would be the first to tell you that one would be absolutely correct in this assumption). Then again-perhaps I’m projecting too much of my own world view as to where the root cause of all socio-political evil lies-sometimes a psychological thriller is just a psychological thriller. At any rate, writer-director Sang-soo (who based his screenplay on a 1960 Korean thriller of the same name, switching around some of the personality dynamics of several principal characters) has fashioned an involving (if a little slow on the boil) entertainment. Some Grand Guignol in the film’s climactic scene and an enigmatic fadeout at the dénouement may prove a dream for some, but a nightmare for others; just don’t say I didn’t warn you!
While watching Sang-soo’s film, I was reminded of one of my all-time favorite British dramas-Joseph Losey’s brooding and decadent class-struggle allegory, The Servant. The 1963 film features the late great Dirk Bogarde, who delivers a note-perfect performance as the “manservant” hired by a snobby playboy (James Fox) to help him settle into his new upscale London digs. It soon becomes apparent that this butler has a little more on the agenda than just polishing silverware and dusting the mantle. You know how actors talk about giving your character “an inner life”? Just study Bogarde’s sly facial expressions and body language throughout and see a master craftsman at work. A young (and alluring) Sara Miles is memorable as Bogarde’s “sister” who is hired as the maid. If you’ve seen Wings of the Dove or Days of Heaven you might figure things out early on, but you’ll enjoy the ride all the same. The expressive chiaroscuro cinematography (by Douglas Slocombe) sets an increasingly claustrophobic mood as the story progresses (watch for the clever use of convex mirrors to “trap” the images of the principal characters). By the way, if you are a fan of 1960’s British folk music, keep your eyes and ears peeled for a rare and unbilled glimpse of legendary guitarist Davey Graham, playing and singing (live-not dubbed!) in a scene where James Fox walks into a coffeehouse. Harold Pinter’s typically acidic screenplay was adapted from the Robin Maugham novel.
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