The Guest (2018)

Well I have to tell you something, that people usually add to the end of the review, or whenever, they think of it, but I want to tell it first.

The music. I haven't gotten yet to identifying all the songs and finding their words, but whatever they say, they were perfect. I loved from the first episode every gruesome, every sad, hard, depressing, weird scene. Every one of them was influenced and perfectly played out within the accompanying song. I never felt like the music starts at the wrong time, or that it somehow creates a rift between the scene at hand and the melodies of the song, or the lyrics. I absolutely adore the soundtrack of this drama.

Really good actors and unknown, awesome actors. This is a pretty awesome thing. To create a criminal or mystery drama, also hospital dramas. Lots of short-term(my term for this) actors flitter through the drama. Who hasn't got a lot, or almost no screen time at all. And these days they seem more appreciated and they are given more things to say, to make an impact on the viewer, so more often than not, we remember these characters. I loved this drama, because the plot and obviously the way it was written, gave these short-term actors a chance to show their ability to act. And I think they made a chance for themselves as scary actors :D Well really. Sometimes I think it's a lot harder to play an ugly and unattractive, violent, screaming your lungs-off-character, rather than a smiling, coffee drinking, book reading person in a coffee shop. So I loved all of those side characters. They could even surprise me, scare me a bit, and really sometimes.. break my heart. I hope great future for any of those actors.

Then the plot. Let's give the screenwriter an applause. I was not surprised all the time. You don't have to write a screenplay, that has such twists, that I have never seen, heard.. to surprise me. The screenplay is either good or bad. It more often than not depends on how smooth the story flows. Just like when you read a book. If you stumble at every freaking step, then it's a bad book. And this was an awesome drama. I was satisfied with every part of it.

The starting made me want to see more. The continuing, from one episode to another, made me interested. The connections between the main characters were touching, and also logical. Why they, why here...
And the evil. Not just one bad, but the evil, the anger, the frustration inside people themselves, which gave them permission to take people over... Which called for that. It made sense. I liked how it was played out.
And the ending. The not sad end, which seemed perfectly logical and I did prepare for it. It felt also right. But the gently smile in the end, the quiet joy of together again... It made me happy too. So I do think, the screenwriter, did a perfect job.

I'm so happy, that they didn't create a love triangle. First, though fun and interesting, they are somewhat... in almost every Korean drama you see. And when I see them, I almost always enjoy them. But it's good to discover a drama that does not have one of those, or for that matter, no love line at all. Which.. is also good. Though not as hoped for, I was satisfied, because of the tempo of the drama, it ran so fast and so interestingly that I didn't see any reason for it.

Now the main three. The actors. They probably could have chosen a better three. But after saying this. I will say, that I don't want anyone else there. Why should I? There are not many actors with such eyes as Kim Dong Wook. At times they really seemed like the saddest, the one who had the hardest life, the one who knows it all, the one who was possessed... I absolutely love that actor now. No joyous adoring. But in skills of playing a part. This was over the top good.

Now Jung Eun Chae, was primarily interesting for me at first, because she didn't smile. Now don't get me wrong. I did think she acted great, but she was interesting to me, because I liked her frowning, and so serious and angry all the time. Her unbelieving, her hard fighting for known logic and not trusting the concept of possessions and evil as such that was shown to her. But then she made herself softer... She had a lot of hurts, she had some small smiles and she worried, for others. I loved the almost concealed really strong affection she felt for her partner and the two guys. She was like the bond in this triangle, though I do want to put that pressure on Hwa Pyung, I'm still not totally convinced I can.

Well, we can not leave out Kim Jae Wook. He was the only of the main three I had the pleasure to have seen before. I did already love his acting skills. I do have to say... I was confused for a little while. I could not find the satisfying affection for him, from the first sighting.. but it came. pretty quickly. He was a lot more confusing character than Kil Yeong. Because I could not read his emotions. I saw his anger and resentment, but I couldn't understand, why was it all concealed under such a hard face. It felt weird. It made sense soon and that was what made me appreciate the role he had been given. To play hard roles is something I do value. I think you have to see actors play both sides, from different angles to know if they are really good. (That's why everyone loves Meryl Streep, what character hasn't she yet played) So playing Choi Yoon gave me a totally new experience when I saw him on screen. He was like a beat-up child, on a street, who does not trust anyone or anything. And then he starts to trust someone, and then he discovers that he is deceived, and now he has to trust another(s). That's an immensely difficult task to do. In life, trust is not something that comes easily... to most people.

I think the three actors, in a way, were given roles, that made it immediate, that if they acted them out wrongly, it would have been clear to everyone watching this drama. And they did such a great job with all of those characters, that I think it's hard not to want to watch the drama if you're in any way in love with something thrilling and mystical and try out the first one.. maybe two episodes, then I think most people will continue.

I did love it. A lot.

Interesting watching everyone!!!

Lees verder