Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Thriller film 'Revolver' to show Jeon Do-yeon's new face
From left, actors Lim Ji-yeon, Jeon Do-yeon, Ji Chang-wook and director Oh Seung-uk pose during the press conference for the upcoming thriller film “Revolver," held at Megabox COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Lee Gyu-lee
Actor Jeon Do-yeon has teamed up again with director Oh Seung-uk for the revenge thriller "Revolver," nearly a decade after their collaboration on "The Shameless" (2015), which was shown in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.
"Working on this project, I was determined to capture the face of Jeon that she hadn't shown before. I wanted to create a sense of curiosity and desire to keep seeing her on the screen throughout the film," the film's director said during the press conference for the movie at Megabox COEX in Gangnam District, Seoul, Tuesday.
"After finishing the final edit, I thought to myself, 'I did it.' I managed to portray an aspect of her that was previously unseen."
The upcoming action thriller film, scheduled to hit theaters on Aug. 7, follows a former police officer, Ha Soo-young (Jeon), who makes a deal to serve a prison sentence for a corruption case in exchange for money.
When she is released after serving two years, only to discover that the compensation she was promised has vanished, taken by a mysterious woman (Lim Ji-yeon), she embarks on a solitary mission to track down Andy (Ji Chang-wook), the man with whom she made the deal. Along the way, she confronts a formidable and perilous force orchestrating everything behind the scenes.
A scene from the upcoming thriller film “Revolver" / Courtesy of Plus M Entertainment
Jeon revealed that she initially proposed collaborating with the director, mentioning that she had been anticipating the opportunity for four years before the film came to fruition.
"Since 'The Shameless,' I fell in love with director Oh's works. It takes him a long time to write (a script), and I feel sorry for him spending so much time on it. The script he was working on (at the time) was a major production, which took a long time and was not working out so well. So I suggested him to write a lower budget work in the meantime," she said.
"I made the proposal because I was also eager to work on a project. But, it took him four years to write (this film) … When he finally came with the script for 'Revolver,' I felt it was worth the wait."
The director expressed his desire to showcase the unique qualities he had come to appreciate about Jeon over the years through the film.
"Because I specifically had Jeon in my mind when writing this script, I gave a lot of thought to her. As getting to know Jeon since 'The Shameless,' there's a certain dignity she uniquely has, which I wanted to deeply explore and capture," he said.
"She also has an extraordinary ability to empathize with others than most people. I gave a lot of thought to putting these qualities of her as the foundation of this script."
The actor, who played a professional killer in her previous film "Kill Boksoon" (2023), portrays an unexpressive and strong-willed character this time.
"It was my first time to take away all the emotions from my face when acting. It almost made me get bored with my face. The other actors beautifully filled up Ha's monotone," she said, noting this character is different from the mercenary character from her previous action film.
"There's a big difference between the two films. In 'Kill Boksoon,' the character is in a dilemma between being a mother and a killer. So despite being a killer, she acts from the perspective of a mother. But Ha focuses solely on herself and her thoughts, following her own path."