Review: Possible Love

Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu), a laid off factory worker, struggles with the emotional scars of his past. His wife, Mi-ok, (Jeon Do-deon) remains devoted to him, but their marriage is strained by unspoken frustrations and desires. Their lives change when Ye-ji,(Cho Yeo-jeong) a documentary filmmaker, begins filming them for a project about laid-off workers and their families.

Director Lee Chang-dong's previous film Burning was a huge hit in the online film world and I ended up being very underwhelmed by it. Even though I didn't love the story, Lee clearly has a ton of talent and his new film Possible Love has it on full display.

If you've ever been laid off from work or had a family member laid off, this is going to hit you hard. At least it did for me. It's a very depressing watch, but it was never enough to make me want to turn it off. Mi-ok is such a compelling character. She's the definition of a people pleaser and even though you as the viewer definitely know better, it's so easy to want her and Ye-ji to form a friendship despite their relationship of director and subject. I found myself getting lost in it a few times and both women are giving such excellent performances. I really hope Netflix campaigns Jeon hard for Best Actress because she deserves it.

I think the film does have some pacing issues, especially since the conclusion the film has to come to is inevitable. It does a good job making you guess at potential outcomes, but you know where it's going. Still, I found this to be a powerful watch, even though it hit a bit too close to home at times for me.

Grade: B