Korean suspense thrillers are a little like Korean soccer games: rough, provocative and erupting with violence. Ultimately though, the scenes — like the soccer plays — are rigorously disciplined and calculated down to the tiniest detail. It goes without saying that both are extremely watchable.
"Memories of Murder" (2003) and "Mother" (2009) — both directed by Bong Joon Ho — are among the genre's masterpieces. With "Secret," a husband and wife tale of murder and betrayal, first-time director Yoon Jae Gu doesn't quite reach the bar set by those films: It feels a little short on surprises and also takes its sweet time in getting to the crux of the matter. Still, the compulsion to keep watching — and guessing — becomes addictive.
"Secret" is also obsessed with style and shopping. Shot in winter-collection- runway hues of blue, black and gray, and starring former model-turned-actor Bang Joon Seo, the film's fashion concerns occasionally override the story, and Yoon has no compunctions about using entire frames to highlight the lapel of some swanky suit. In some spots, the ploy works (the bad guy has a penchant for snakeskin jackets that may or may not cause him to channel Robert de Niro in his mafioso glory days); in others, its fashionista strutting interferes with more pressing issues. I mean, here's a cop who suspects his wife of murdering a Korean underworld boss. Wouldn't wardrobe concerns be at the bottom of the list?