Last Updated on September 28, 2020 by rob
A bent copper named Ko (Lee Sun-kyun) is en route to his mother’s funeral when he knocks down a pedestrian in his car. Panic-stricken, Ko decides to dispose of the body by sticking it in the same coffin as that of his Mum! However, the entire incident is witnessed and a menacing voice on the phone (Jo Jin-woong) contacts Ko at work and threatens him with exposure unless he returns the dead man’s body. But as Ko decides to fight back and plunges into a cat and mouse game with his shadowy blackmailer his own squad’s investigation into his hit and run means the noose is slowly tightening around his own neck and it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out.
A real cracker! This grippingly told story is propelled by entertaining performances, the most outrageous plot twists and a delightfully dark – almost absurdist – sense of humour. Star Sun-kyun is quite likeable as the seriously put upon protagonist and it’s interesting that although his cop is a character who takes bribes we never have any problem sympathising with his predicament. Perhaps it’s because there’s never a sense that he and his squad of fellow detectives would ever turn a blind eye to anything as serious as murder. In that respect he’s much like Sul Kyoung-gu’s ‘tec in the Public Enemy films. He has a good foil too in Jo Jin-woong’s malevolent and silky smooth bad guy, Park, whose character really does embody the film’s electrifying combination of violence and black humour.
Director Kim Seong-hun orchestrates the unfolding mayhem with such skill that his plotting most always seems a step ahead of the audience. This is not a film where you can easily tell what’s coming at you next. For example, the identity of Jin-woong’s menacing caller – far from being concealed until the climax – is quickly revealed and the first face to face encounter between Park and Ko is so unexpected (not least for its setting) it’s downright startling. A subsequent violent smackdown between the two in a toilet cubicle is abruptly and hilariously curtailed when Park, having all but drowned our hero by shoving his head down the bog, considers the spectacle of the two of them jammed up in a tiny toilet together and declares ‘This is all a bit gay really isn’t it?’!!
Another pivotal moment in which a car explodes and is flung off the bridge it’s on and into a river – in full view of our hero standing only a dozen yards away – is such an audacious bit of staging I’d love to know how they managed it without actually killing anyone. A Hard Day is stuffed with similarly jaw-dropping moments, revelling in dropping its protagonist into seemingly impossible ‘Now-Get-Out-Of-That!’ situations and it makes for a hugely entertaining ride right up to its last (and very funny) scene. There’s no great message here and like another South Korean movie – the wonderful Confession of Murder – its sole intent is to entertain the hell out of you. Mission accomplished!
