Anna

Finally a drama not about a guy and a girl falling in love through the course of 16 episodes, not about some funny jokes and funny songs and the same repeatitive vibe but a story of how cruel the world can be and how much it can affect people. I left watching korean dramas because they were becoming some how very predictable and repeatitive but squid game brought me back and now that i have watched this drama, i am getting hopeful. The drama has its weaknesses and can be a little predictable sometimes but it is elevated with a first class acting by Suzy who succeeds in giving soul and complexity to her character, this does not mean the rest of the cast wasn't amazing, cinematography is on point, directing is good, editing could have been better, But overall while i would have given this an 8 on normal circumstance, i will give it a 10 just because i appreciate the change and seriousness in this drama compared to other k dramas.

What happens when you sell your soul to a lie?..

The overarching theme of this drama portrays how far someone is willing to go to dive into a lie when they are desperate enough, and the consequences of doing so.

Think plot of "Catch Me If You Can" with Leo De Caprio or "Talented Mr Ripley" with Matt Damon, with an injection of the deeper themes of the first two acts of "Parasite".. If you enjoyed those films you'll really enjoy this one, as I am.

The depth of the plot and the realism of the script and the acting are deep, so deep that I have a hard time distinguishing it from what could happen in real life. This gives this drama a mature and serious vibe, underpinned by an underlying sinister tension that the main character Suzy has, and continues to, commit deeper and deeper sins.

Pacing seems perfect so far at the halfway point, and really feels like a very well executed movie, even though the total runtime should come to around 6 hours. No room for filler scenes, and each scene is poignant, important and feels crisp which lends a feeling of overall quality to the experience.

Highly recommend- Surprised this isn't getting more attention as I think this is absolutely S tier and is so far scene for scene in the ballpark for quality and execution to films such as Parasite, Burning and feels similar to when I was watching the first few episodes of Flower of Evil, and COULD end up being the highest quality Korean drama I've ever watched. Although that is a big IF with half the season remaining.

This show has beautiful cinematography and good pacing. I liked the main character, she was intelligent, knew what she wanted and went for it even though it was wrong. The story follows a clear development, climax and end so everything was wrapped up nicely within 6 episodes. Although some parts may seem underdeveloped, overall, it was written well.

ANNA (2022), for me, was a missed target. A real let down, to be honest. It really could have been great, but completely missed the mark. Now the confusing thing is there were things about the show that were actually pretty great, for example an intriguing premise with endless possibilities and a lot of room for suspense, and the cinematography and artistic eye behind the camera made the show eye-catching and great to watch. Quality.

Starting the series I felt for sure it would turn out to be a real gem, a wonderful suspensful and dramatic show, full of twists and turns. Why? Because it just looks so good, like you can feel right off the bat that a lot of care went into it. It's quality and has high production value, great visuals, great music, intriguing premise, a big actress starring in it, strong supporting cast. What could go wrong?

First of all, for me this wasn't actually a suspense, mystery, thriller drama. It ended up being quite unsuspensful. The pacing was almost incredibly slow. And listen, I love a good slow burn mystery drama. Intellectual, political, psychological. Those can be great, some of the greatest really. So I don't even think that the fact the marketing misled me on the genre description as the fault of this show failing in my view...

It's difficult to explain why it missed the mark exactly, except maybe that it was lacking in some key ingredient that make for an excellent drama recipe. Namely character development and character acting. After watching the show, I can honestly say I still didn't really feel any attachment to Lee Yu Mi, the main character, played by Kpop idol Bae Suzy. By no means do I mean to bash on her acting ability, but to me her portrayal of her role felt so bland and dry. Boring, unmemorable and somewhat irritating. Sterile, unemotional, robotic. I don't think this was her best work, though certainly not her worst either.

I felt like the director maybe should have guided her more, encouraged a better performance or at least a different variety of expressions and reactions. Often it felt to me that she was just not invested in her role at all, or maybe she thought the same expression would carry her through the show. And truly that fact itself, that it didn't carry her is saying something too, because she's quite lovely to look at, but that certainly doesn't mean she was suited to the role and in my opinion, she definitely wasn't.

Now, in Bae Suzy's defense, a weak character can also happen in series as short as this one (6-8ep), given much less time to develop onscreen and hence less time to connect with the audience, especially given there are other characters, other moving pieces and plotlines also needing sufficient screen time, so perhaps the short length was partly the reason why. And while I admit, I haven't seen many series with this lead Actress, Bae Suzy, in it, I am certainly well aware of her high status and reknown, especially in Korea. And I'm sure she's great in other shows, and certainly as a singer, which is how she started and gained her popularity and fans. So no hate, truly.

However, this series just didn't endear me to her. I'm not trying to criticize her, personally. I'm sure she's a great actress in other things. I'm thinking the writers here didn't do her character justice or perhaps they encouraged a more subdued, muted performance for whatever reason, which definitely wasn't the course to go. For me, I rarely felt attachment or concern for the characters, but least of all for her, which is definitely not a good thing for a drama. The Main Lead is someone the viewer needs to bond to, connect with, vibe with and root for. The supporting cast made her character appear even weaker, by how strong they all were. Also, another thing of note was that the two younger actors for the same character (both the child and adolescent) were more memorable than she was in their respective roles.

The character of Yoo Mi felt often like a passive doormat and then at random intervals more like a sly manipulator, someone you can pity but not admire or relate to. And there didn't seem to be any given reason for this behavior nor growth from it, no redemptive path. It was a pity, because this could have been a strong feminist character with morally ambiguous motives and vast range of character development. Instead, I felt myself rooting for the moral secondary character, the political journalist, Han Ji Won and more interested in the charasmatic and selfish character of Lee Hyun Joo. At least they both felt more dynamic and more multi dimensional.

I must also add before closing, the premise was indeed quite intriguing and I admire dramas that offer social commentary and make room for deeper intellectual discourse. This series was definitely good in that way. There is much to be said and to analize here about human behavior, human nature, tendancies that can worsen, the evolution of a lie, how ego and hubris can effect identidy, how one lie can turn to many, and eventually spark an all consuming fire that inevitably destroys. The ripple effect, the consequences of that one lie. The reality that sinks in. Really some good ideas to chew on...

Anyway, all this to say this good show felt weighted down by weaker acting, a weak lead character that never had the chance to develope onscreen, perhaps poor casting choices, poor character development/writing and honestly a pretty weak ending. A beautiful face does not equate to a powerful or skillful actor. A great famous singer does not equate to a great actress. Great acting can be hindered by poor direction and writing. A great show or work of art can be hindered by poor editing. Perhaps this show would have been superb with different circumstances. Overall, this was more of a dissapointing watch for me and didn't live up to what I felt it could have been. Very conflicted about this drama.

The director of Anna shows great character development with an interesting storyline.

Anna's got great characters, a decent storyline, and wonderful aesthetics.

From Anna, what I feel and see is the quality of acting, the quality of directing, and what a quality project it is.

It's a Must Watch Drama if you like high-quality projects.