“Don’t Go Too Far” Theatrical Poster
Director: Park Hyun-yong
Cast: Son Jin-hwan, Son Byung-ho, Choi Jae-sup, Lee Sun-hee, Park Myung-shin, Lee Kyung-sung, Lee Do Yup, Ji Dae Han, Kang Tae Young
Running Time: 77 min.
By Paul Bramhall
While it’s not uncommon for movies to be based off stage plays, what is uncommon is for the actual theatre setting itself to be integrated into a production intended for the screen rather than the stage. Part of what makes Don’t Go Too Far unique is that it doesn’t just embrace the stage aesthetic, it puts it front and centre for all to see. The feature length debut of director Park Hyun-yong, after helming a couple of short films in the form 2016’s The Luncheon on the Grass and 2017’s Visit, in 2018 he’d step in to the world of theatre with Malformation. It was his last foray that provided the inspiration for Don’t Go Too Far, which sees the mostly 1-room setting as a gathering point for three sons and a daughter to hear how their dying father has split up the inheritance between them.
Movies that focus on family dynamics within a limited setting tend to provide futile ground for underlying tensions to bubble to the surface, with either dramatic or comedic effects, and Hyun-yong’s script seems fully aware of this. When the notary arrives to read the will, out of the 2 billion won up for grabs it’s the eldest son (played by Son Jin-hwan – The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos) who’s gifted 900,000,000 won, while the rest (played by Son Byung-ho – Running Wild, Choi Jae-sup – Tazza: The High Rollers, and Lee Sun-hee – Concrete Utopia) are given 300,000,000 each (with the remainder being donated to church). Even before the will has finished being read a sense of discomfort immediately enters the room, as Jin-hwan doesn’t understand why he’s only been given half, while the others are left to complain about the smaller amount being divided amongst them and who deserves more.
It’s a classic setup, and almost immediately the bickering begins, especially since Jin-hwan and Byung-ho’s wives are also present and happy to make their opinions heard (played by Park Myung-shin – Train to Busan and Lee Kyung-sung – Missing respectively), along with Sun-hee’s husband (played by Kang Tae-young – Monstrum). While the scenario in and of itself serves as a powder keg environment for an anticipated meltdown, a curveball is thrown into the mix when a phone call is received (the room even comes with an old circular dial phone) from someone claiming to have kidnapped Jin-hwan and Myung-shin’s son. Using a voice distorter the kidnapper demands they cough up a ransom of 2 billion won, otherwise their son will be killed, leaving the pair to convince the other siblings to give up their share in order to save their offspring.
Don’t Go Too Far is that rare kind of production in the 2020’s that relies purely on the actor’s performances to engage the audience. I’ve always been a fan of movies set in one-location, since the creativity the limitations place on the filmmaker tend to always result in something a little different, with the 2009 revenge thriller Desire to Kill and 2012’s surreal Moksha: The Word or I, How Does That Work? being perfect examples. Here the setting itself is a sparsely decorated room with black walls, a window, and the bold decision has been made to not even disguise the fact that it’s a stage.
Characters walk through doors which are literally just a door frame affixed to the set, so when one character steps outside to take a phone call behind the door, the camera allows the audience to see the characters continuing to converse immediately behind him. Rather than relying on lavish set design and dramatic camera movements to build the reality that Don’t Go Too Far takes place in, the focus is purely on the actors and their performances, with the minimalism that’s applied to everything else serving to push them to the fore.
Inevitably this means that Hyun-yong’s debut is a dialogue heavy affair, however in what must surely be a miracle for a Korean production, with a runtime of 77 minutes the pace never lulls, and the inclusion of the kidnap only serves to propel tensions to the surface even more. While the setting may take a moment to adjust to, it doesn’t take long to tune into Don’t Go Too Far’s wavelength, and it’s interesting to see how Hyun-yong uses traditional theatre staging in terms of the characters positions within the camera frame, ensuring space is never wasted.
All 7 of the leads clock in stellar performances, and since they notably also come from a theatre background as well as their work in front of the camera, the chemistry between them essentially makes the audience feel like they’re watching a theater troupe do what they do best. At the heart of any production like Don’t Go Too Far though is the script, and to that Hyung-yong delivers, even weaving in some welcome moments of black humor that hit the mark (at one point, out of desperation, they come up with a plan to tell the kidnapper that none of them know who the kid is, hoping that he’ll lose interest and let him go unharmed). If there’s any standout though it has to go to Byung-ho, who clocks in an entertainingly scenery chewing performance that goes from cool and collected, to heart attack inducing episodes of exasperation and everything in-between.
As much as I was happy to spend the entire 77 minutes in the environment Hyun-yong has created for his actors, the final third does eventually transition from the stage setting to outside, as having gotten the police involved Byung-ho is chosen as the one who should meet the kidnapper at an old market. The change in location essentially switches Don’t Go Too Far from an intimate dialogue driven drama with streaks of black humor to a kinetic crime thriller for its closing reel, as we witness the cops run through the kind of streets and alleys any fan of Korean cinema will be more than familiar with. The change is an effective one, as in a way the sudden tonal transition from the restricted environment of the one-room setting where movement was limited, to seeing people running through the streets of Seoul, almost feels like a release of the tension that’s being gradually built up for close to an hour.
It’s during this final sequence that the meaning of the title also comes into play, leading to an unexpectedly violent conclusion, but one that provides a fitting wrap up to the events that have come before. In case it’s not already clear, Don’t Go Too Far has little to do with a family mourning their father who’s on his deathbed, and all to do with the nature of human greed. It’s a theme that’s been explored plenty of times before, especially amongst family members, however here Hyun-yong makes it feel fresh both through the scenario he’s crafted, and the visual aesthetic chosen to have it play out in. In a Korean film industry that’s become increasingly commercialised and predictable in the 2020’s, it’s refreshing to see a mid-budget production do something unique with the medium of film, and the fact that it’s from a debut director is even more admirable.
Some may say Hyun-yong has put all of his eggs in one basket by trusting the actors to bring his vision to life with almost no other bells and whistles, however in the case Don’t Go Too Far, it’s a risk that’s paid off. A reminder of how well Korea used to do the ensemble production, every actor brings their character to life, and their interactions gradually crank up the tension levels far more effectively than other movies with probably 10 times the budget. While it’s easier to imagine what Hyun-yong might do next as a scriptwriter more than it is a director, whatever he chooses to do as his next project it’ll be one that I’ll definitely be checking out.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7/10
