That Night (2021)

Kim Soo-Hyun’s Sublime Return To Thrillers…

Remake dramas can often go down two selective routes; diverging from the originality of its predecessor, or offering viewers a production en par with the original. Thankfully Coupang Play’s first series led by director
Lee Myung-woo, ‘ One Ordinary Day ‘ ( a remake of the original BBC series ‘ Criminal Justice’), offered viewers a fairly knockout adaptation with arguably darker explorations of the criminal judicial system, an intriguing setup as well as a brilliant cast lineup ( most notably A-list actor Kim Soo-Hyun as the main lead).

The series focuses upon seemingly “ model student” college-student Kim Hyeon-soo (Kim Soo-hyun). In an effort to apparently gain popularity Hyeon-Soo decided to hook up one night with Hong Kook-Hwa ( Hwang Se-on); a mysterious yet beguiling troublemaker. However Hyeon-Su’s fantastical night is cut short as he wakes up to a horrifying sight. Seemingly framed for a crime he didn’t commit, few seem to believe his plea for innocence- apart from gruff lawyer Shin Joon-Han ( Cha Seung-won). Alongside soft-spoken novice lawyer Seo Soo Jin ( Lee Seol), Joon-Han is determined to prove Hyeon-Su’s innocence yet as further problems arise in the case, the true question of justice begins to become more clouded along the way…

‘ One Ordinary Day’ delivers anything but mundanity for viewers - its heavy-going and macabre themes upon murder, crime, prison, corruption and injustice will likely not appeal to everyone. Whilst the first episode admittedly offers viewers a fast-paced and adrenal-infused episode, the latter episodes do hit a slight rut at times of struggling to maintain the same alacrity. ( Admittedly whilst some of these scenes were necessary for slowing down and building -up setups and characters, they’d sometimes disengage episodes from keeping viewers captivated by moving at a quicker pace.)

Casting top-actors in a lesser-known and more mature production can always be a gamble for both the actor as well as the company. However Kim Soo Hyun does not disappoint bringing forth a gut-wrenching performance as the main lead . Hyun-Soo is the ultimate enigma for viewers- a bright student and seemingly a kindhearted son, but his myriad of reckless decision-making causes him to start his hellish journey throughout the series. Naturally whilst the storyline never wanted to give too much away about Hyun-Soo’s ultimate final verdict , there were admittedly moments in the series surrounding Hyun-Soo which felt as though they could’ve been shown in more intrinsic depth. ( Including further insight into his relationship with his parents , his experiences with peers during his younger years ,Hyun-Soo’s college life as well as about his fight for survival in prison.)Even if the drama had offered these some of these moments as merely “Red Herrings” it could’ve allowed for more opportunities to have seen a multilayered onset for Hyun Soo as a character.

Alongside Kim Soo Hyun is costar Cha Seung Won who played the role of the unkempt lawyer with an air of rugged charm. Yet admittedly whilst there were intriguing elements to Seung Won as a written-character, the deuteragonist could often lack some greater and definitive focus on his backstory. Of course this isn’t to say that Shin Joong Han is a poorly-written character by any stretch of the imagination; the male lead is far from being a perceived as an impeccable guardian angel and instead nearly plays devil’s advocate in the courtroom - he has his own demons to deal with, personal motives for taking on his clientele for and is widely dismissed by the inner-circle of judges and prosecutor as being “ third-rate”. However the storyline could’ve admittedly been smoothed down more if the drama had given opportunities to understand more about his past.

Combined together with the vivid cinematographer of Lee Myung-Woo of vivid neon night shots against the mundanity of the court room , ‘ One Ordinary Day’ becomes a suspenseful reverse-psychology series where versatile themes surrounding corruption, drugs and abuse were played carefully with the murky lightning of flashbacks presented a moody and unsettling atmosphere against the lucid mundanity of tension. Inter played when necessary with the spine-tingling OST, ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was surprisingly masterful when it came to delivering some of its impactful scenes for viewers.

Naturally this brings us onto one of the greatest downfalls for ‘ One Ordinary Day’; the ending. Naturally the ending wasn’t inherently rushed with a notably slow-paced speed weighing down a major proportion of the final episodes in order to build-up towards the finale. On the other hand whilst the ending is certainly surprising for viewers and did seem to present a powerful statement message towards the unstable corruption of the judicial system in South-Korea, it did admittedly feel slightly anticlimactic for viewers with certain original links and questions remaining unanswered even by the final episode.

Nevertheless whilst the series could sometimes struggle with attaining constant and steady pacing as well as shaping out certain subplots, ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was a fairly thrilling and gripping series which offered brilliant performances by our cast and especially Kim Soo-Hyun as well as Cha Seung Won. The ending was admittedly slightly unexpected and failed to wrap up some more quintessential loose ends for viewers, but did undeniably deliver the reminder for audiences that ‘ One Ordinary Day’ was harrowing within its portrayal of the judicial system.

Lees verder