Wall to Wall

This could only be summed up as "INTERESTING IDEAS .. the movie." I believe there are quite a few small wins here in terms of thematic setup, but the payoffs are never as interesting. It starts with a tense thriller premise (that revolves around noise pollution), before diving into a bitcoin subplot and a larger real-estate conspiracy at play. No complaints concerning the performances -- Kang Ha-neul, Seo Hyun-woo, and Yeom Hye-ran deliver quite solidly. Writer-director Kim Tae-joon shows inventiveness in the staging, at least in the initial portions, before running out of steam in the final act, where it turns into a familiar, bloody showdown. Wall to Wall also suffers from the same issue as Tae-joon's earlier flick Unlocked, where the length of the film (1h 58m) lessened its conclusive impact. The nightmarish thriller part of the film ranks way above the rest, and most of that's restricted to the first hour.

Woo Sung is an ordinary office worker in his 30's. He has succeeded in buying his own apartment, which was his lifelong dream. To buy the apartment, he used all of his savings.

Wall to wall would have been improved if it were a far more simplified, less complicated tale. The tonal changeover, from psychological thriller to high-concept conspiracy, makes it lose some of the effect it has so diligently built up in the first half.

Despite the incredible performances in this thriller, the foundation it rests upon starts to crumble once things run out of steam. And Every attempt the movie makes to one-up itself has the opposite effect.

Not going to lie, this movie had me stressed out more than once. It is well shot, with great visuals and colors that create a tense atmosphere. Some parts do feel a bit long, but the editing keeps the pace dynamic overall. I'd say it's a solid, chaotic movie that made me feel just as lost as the main character, with plenty of plot twists. It's definitely disturbing, and just when you think it can't get any crazier, it does. Sadly, the end is a bit disapointing because the last 30 - 40 minutes of the movie are too messy and less catchy. So i would say it is an okay movie overall, you should watch it without expecting a masterpiece.

Wall to Wall starts with an intriguing premise and a strong visual atmosphere, but it quickly loses momentum due to pacing issues and overcomplicated plotting. The film stretches its runtime with unnecessary subplots and minor characters that don't contribute meaningfully to the main story.

The core mystery-centered around mysterious noises and psychological tension-had potential, but the reveal feels unconvincing, and the villain's motivation comes off as forced and illogical. Instead of a tight psychological thriller, we're left with a bloated narrative that tries to say too much, yet doesn't fully commit to any of its ideas.

As "Wall to Wall" (2025 release from South Korea; 118 min.; original title "84 m2") opens, we are in "Seoul 2021" and as we watch Seoul's endless sea of skyscrapers, Noh Woo-sung purchases a small condo measuring 84 square meters (900 sqaure feet). We the go to "Seoul, August 2024" and Woo-sung struggles to keep up with his mortgage, maintenance fees and other expenses. On top of that, he notices strange noises coming from his neighbor below. Or is it his neighbor upstairs? At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: houses, condos and apartments in Asia are typically a lot smaller than what we are used to in the West, and certainly in the US, where there is never-ending space everywhere except a few major cities like New York and Chicago. This South Korean movie starts out as your typical drama: how to deal with noise pollution presumably coming from your neighbors. But the movie morphs into something quite different in its second hour. This movie is super plot-heavy so the less about that, the better and I won't spoil any of it. I quite enjoyed the second half of the movie, more so than the first half. The non-names cast (for me anyway) does quite well. And of course Seoul, itself a character in the movie, is an amazing place.

"Wall to Wall" started streaming in Netflix about a week ago. I happen to read a positive review of it in the British weekly The Economist, and that was good enough for me to check it out. The movie is currently rated 62% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and that sounds about right to me. If you are in the mood for a foreign drama/thriller about life in a small condo set in a skyscraper, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.