LEE JOON GI’S
MAGNUM OPUS
FLOWER OF EVIL
|
|
Lee Joon Gi's tour de force performance in his magnum opus, Flower of Evil, has exceeded all expectations. Lee portrays Do Hyun Su, the titular Flower of Evil, a unique landmark suspense-melodrama about some unsolved serial murders. The masterpiece, written by Yoo Jung Hee and directed by Kim Cheol Kyu, breaks new grounds and challenges conventions. Flower of Evil marks a seismic shift from other dramas about psychopaths.
The drama explores psychopathy not from the perspective of Do
Min Seok, the psychopath-cum-serial killer father but Do Hyun Su,
his psychologically unsound son who is wrongly accused of murder. Do Hyun Su is
really the Flower of Evil. He is the flower that thrives in a bed of
evil. Do Min Seok, his father is the personification of Evil, a serial
killer-cum-psychopath and Do Hyun Su is born from that evil seed,
born of a killer. In his role as a mentally unbalanced man, Lee added a depth and realism to his character.
The unique combination of suspense and melodrama is also a
daring departure from the traditional combination of genres. Suspense and
melodrama, which are polar opposites like oil and water, do not mix but
strangely for the first time, the unusual balance between suspense and
melodrama in Flower of Evil does wonders. The drama pours in as much
suspense and emotion as possible and that is why when one speaks of Flower of
Evil, one thinks of uncharted territory.
Flower of Evil is, by far, the most important psychopath drama
to have emerged from the global showbusiness industry. The appealing aspect of Flower
of Evil is it has achieved a level of psychological realism that few
dramas have captured. Flower of Evil probes the dark side of society and the psychology of the offspring of a psychopath. Dramas about psychopaths are
normally stories of their crimes or acts of deviance and how they had become the slime of society. Flower of Evil derives its power by perceptively capturing the
pain, suffering and havoc wrought on the lives of the offspring of a psychopath and viewing life from their perspective.
 https://twitter.com/i/status/1399587287642652676
Watching Lee Joon Gi’s remarkably portrayal in his iconic role
of Do Hyun Su in Flower of Evil is an incredibly unique experience.
So is Moon Chae Won’s portrayal of Cha Ji Won. Both lead actors are the
linchpin, energy and spirit of the drama.
Lee Joon Gi has won critical acclaim for his nuanced portrayal
of a man with mental instability; the versatile actor is celebrated for his
ability to build and portray the fascinatingly complex character of Do Hyun
Su, a walking contradiction. He is not only able to capture the essence of a
hardened, cold and detached mentally unstable Do Hyun Su but also show the
flawed hero in a sympathetic light. Lee, who portrays his character with
deliberate ambiguity, movingly depicts the mentally unstable but emotionally
detached productive member of society.
The remarkable actor has won over audiences with his nuanced portrayal of the sensitive, disturbed character who display little or no emotion but can erupt into psychotic rages. Do Hyun Su's deadly, icy calm and towering rage, all of which are fully explored in the drama, shows the duality of his nature. One can deeply feel the character’s sense of bleak despair and utter desperation.
Hyun Su’s volatile temperament can be seen in his desperate moments. When Nam Soon Kil, his co-worker attempted to kill him for his money, his life had reached a nadir and his self-control snapped.
His desperate fight with Nam Soon Kil catches the audience
off-guard. Hyun Su seemed capable of cold and heartless murder. At that point, Hyun Su’s
eyes, like bayonets, seemed to be tinged with turmoil and madness. Like in all incidents of heightened tension in his life, he
saw his father’s spectre who ordered him to kill Nam. Luckily, he did not.
   When Hyun Su’s former schoolmate, Kim Moo Jin,
dropped in for a visit, he was stunned. His cold demeanour and expressionless
eyes strike terror in the hearts of viewers. Having been comfortably ensconced in a secure and idyllic life under the radar,
Hyun Su was quick to equate the reappearance of his school friend
from the past as potential danger. It threw his life into chaos. Panic and
the fear of being exposed were all consuming and he couldn’t quell it. The cold demeanour, lack of emotions and lack of empathy displayed
by Do Hyun Su make the audience shudder. The horrified audience, who are spellbound by his thoughts of
trapping his former schoolmate and holding him captive, wait
for the impending explosion of violence. Do Hyun Su seemed
truly psychotic. The duo finally locked horns and the metalcraft worker
wrestled the journalist to the ground. The unwelcome visitor found himself
tied up in the basement of Hyun Su’s house, an M.O. similar to that of his deceased serial-killer
father.
         Hyun Su accused Kim Moo Jin
of being a murderer. If Kim Moo Jin had been pro-active and
courageous, the serial murders would have stopped. Had he handed over his evidence,
the camcorder with the video of the body in the sack, to the police, Hyun
Su would not have become a fugitive who was hunted by the police.
  Was Do Hyun Su a psychopath? His father’s opinion was quite
revealing. Straight from the horse’s mouth: ‘Hyun Su is different. He
turned out to be a failure.’ Do Min Seok praised his accomplice, Baek Hee
Sung, ‘You’re the best work I’ve ever accomplished.’  Lee portrays Hyun Su, a rejuvenated man armed with a
new identity, with great impact. When fate brought Hyun Su and Cha Ji Won together, it not only gave him love but also hope. Through her nurturing love, his
self-image and confidence improved. He was able to negotiate the hurdles in
life with her guidance and unconditional love. He learned to emote, using tutorials from the Internet. It is hilarious. But the point is, love outweighs nature. And he was
inextricably bound to her.      When the police discovered Hyun Su’s real identity, Ji Won pleaded with him to flee but he refused. He was a picture of despair; he did not want to live life as a fugitive again. Instead, he, like a baby, begs to go home with her. ‘I want to go home, Ji Won.’ Hyun Su’s shocking namby-pamby image is a drastic departure from the usual image of tearful male faces of dramas and movies; it will be etched
in the viewers’ memory for a long time. 
   In the most exciting part of Flower of Evil, the
climatic showdown scene between Do Hyun Su and Baek Hee Sung, Hyun
Su’s mask of sanity fell off. Lee deftly portrays the maniacal Hyun Su who could be stabbed with
lightning strokes of violence. One’s
heart pounds like a sledgehammer to see the abrupt change in Hyun Su in the basement of his childhood home. Although having the upper hand, he did not kill Baek Hee Sung immediately but lured him to the edge of the cliffs. At the chilling cliff scene, Hyun Su had reached the height of his psychotic rage; he was in the throes of killing Baek Hee Sung. By this time, the police had arrived. To
everyone’s shock, the delusional man cried out that he saw the spectre of his
dead father. It dawned on the police that he was hallucinating. Ji Won, his wife, held out her hands,
urging him to go to her. It must be pointed out that it is a significant moment in drama history. Lee Joon Gi, at this point, has injected something new in his character. The audience is suddenly exposed to Lee’s more sensitive side when they watch the psychologically unstable Hyun Su being reduced to a frightened, helpless and tearful baby. Hyun Su, shedding his tough, cruel exterior, cried like a baby as he tottered towards his wife. The vulnerable
man, who had been obsessed or fixated on his dead mother, often listened to her
lullaby on the tape recorder. In that moment in time, Hyun Su was
perhaps reaching out for his mother. And the mollycoddling gesture of Cha Ji Won, with her open arms, embodies the warmth and security of the mother that he had lost.    
          Do Hyun Su had undergone so much pain and suffering that when the babyish man in him was exposed, the audience is stunned. The conflicting image of the violent man who was suddenly
reduced to a tearful, gurgling infantile wreck has a monumental effect on the global audience.
It is a poignant portrayal by Lee Joon Gi that sears the heart. In the end, it seemed Hyun Su's emotions – violence, rage and madness were spent. After being shot by Baek Hee Sung, Hyun Su fell
into a coma. When awakened, he was back to his original self. Do Hyun Su’s life had gone full circle and arrived back at square
one. He may have skirted the system but in the end, with his memory loss, the
mask he had skillfully worn naturally fell off. Back to his original self, he was once again devoid of all emotion, detached, manipulative and cold. He had lost pieces of himself ; the warm, loving and happy facets of his personality had vanished.                                 When he finally remembered parts of his life, husband and wife
reconciled. It is implied that with the help of his wife, they would spend
the rest of their lives together, reconstructing the warm, loving man that
had existed before. Flower of Evil has proven to be a great
milestone for Lee Joon Gi. It has solidified Lee Joon Gi’s place as Asia’s
greatest actor. The global audiences are clamouring to see more of him. The
dynamic between Lee Joon Gi and Moon Chae Won is so appealing to audiences around the world that many viewers want them to film another drama together.   |
|
