3/5 stars
Jeon stars as Ok-ju, a laconic loner who has parted ways with the shadowy international organisation that trained her to be a remorseless killing machine. Her quiet, solitary existence is disrupted when, out of the blue, she receives a call from Min-hee (Park Yu-rim), a ballerina with whom she was once very close.
On arrival at her flat, Ok-ju discovers Min-hee has taken her own life, leaving behind only a cryptic message asking her friend to avenge her. Ok-ju is directed to a drug dealer known as Chef Choi (Kim Ji-hoon), and from there descends into a maelstrom of organised crime, perverse exploitation and bloody violence.
There is no denying that Ballerina feels like Lee is pirouetting in the wrong direction after his endlessly inventive time-travel horror mash-up The Call.
Too many of the film’s tropes, from the handsome, wealthy, emotionally detached villain onwards, have long since become tired, overused clichés; it can be frustrating to see them employed so enthusiastically in a script that offers precious little invention beneath its shimmering surface.
Jeon’s cold-as-ice angel of vengeance is the film’s saving grace. Ok-ju’s nonplussed half-pout of unfazed disinterest sits brilliantly at odds with the extreme violence she doles out to an endless parade of knife-wielding goons. Her ability to garner so much empathy while emoting so little is a testament to Jeon’s bewitching screen presence.
Had Lee dared to explore the depths of her relationship with Min-hee further, rather than merely imply that, for Ok-ju at least, it was more than just platonic, the film might have been a genuine game-changer. As is, Ballerina is a polished yet disposable slice of ho-hum hokum.
Ballerina will start streaming on Netflix on October 6.
