Curtain Call (2022)
Quick Take: Curtain Call (2022), starring Kang Ha-neul and Ha Ji-won. 9.4/10. 16 episodes, 6o min. each.
Synopsis: During the Korean War, a young woman is separated from her husband and small son. She arrives safely in the South, while they remain trapped in the North. Eventually she marries and has another child, but part of her heart mourns for her lost family.
When the story begins, she has been given only three months to live. Her friend and long-time manager wants to make her final days happy. His investigator successfully locates Ri Moon-sung — her grandson — living in China as a violent thug. Rather than bring that person to South Korea, the manager hires two theatrical actors to play the parts of “Ri Moon-sung” and his wife, just until the Grandmother dies. The actors move in to the family home and over time come to sincerely care about the Grandmother. She responds warmly to them, too, which creates issues of inheritance.
Then the real Ri Moon-sung arrives in South Korea and the shit hits the fan.
Review: The central question of Curtain Call is, Does the end justify the means? Somehow the answer to that question always, in the end, turns out to be no. The manager’s intentions were pure, but he created a messy complex of lies and deceit. The actors’ intentions were pure as well; they signed on (albeit for good pay) hoping to bring happiness to the final days of a dying woman.
Landing them directly on the road to hell.
Recommended.
Rewatchable - 4, Compelling - 5, Plot/ Story/Writing - 10, Acting/Casting - 10, Production - 10, Bonus - 5. Bonus points for moral dilemma.
Notes:
Kang Ha-neul
began his career in musical theater, and has been acting in films and dramas since 2007. See him also in The Heirs (2013), Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016), and When the Camellia Blooms (2019).
Ha Ji-won
ris one of South Korea’s most sought-after actresses, particularly known for her versatility. Among her best-known roles are Secret Garden (2010) opposite Hyun Bin, the title character in Empress Ki (2013), and Chocolate (2020). She is also known for her philanthropy.
Go Doo-shim
has had a successful acting career spanning 40 years. She has won the Daesang (the highest acting prize in Korea) a record number of seven times, for films and dramas.