Beasts Clawing at Straws

Making money is an absolute element, making a Quentin Tarantino movie clever.

"Beasts" is a little confusing at the start. We're shown three people who really need money (a low-income worker with an elderly mother, a young woman who is treated badly by her partner, and a government worker in debt to the underworld). And a bag of money that is there to be had.

But the timelines for these stories are not in sync, and the pacing can be rather slow (although there are still good moments).

The tension starts to build when the young woman is involved in a crime. But the film really comes to life when the woman's boss appears about half way through. She is a devastating femme fatale, played brilliantly by Jeon Do-yeon, and is at the heart of all the the action and intrigue and black comedy that follows as the three storylines are bound together.

Stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a sharp and entertaining finale.

Well if Yong-hoon Kim produces anything else of this quality in his lifetime he'll be a happy chap. Yes the quality of the story helps greatly but the directing is up there with the best. This film is like a Steven Soderbergh does Korean crime, dark, violent with wonderful black comedy. More please.

I know this is a sub-genre that some people love and they would split hairs, calling me a killjoy, but to me this is like...Layer Cake? 8 Heads in a Duffle Bag? There are also some South Korean films from about twenty years ago with similar themes, though admittedly the script is original in its character development and fine details. I don't know how people survived all of those head injuries, especially the old grandma. It's a dark comedy, not meant to be realistic, and apparently based upon a novel. The main protagonist any normal person would root for is a clerk at a jjimjilbang, a real working class victim of the system, so I can gladly put this well-written film into the cannon of SK flicks that defend the downtrodden poor.

It has good character development but most fellas will compare it with Coen brothers n Tarantino style films.

The length of the film is its biggest problem cos the action n thrill factor is missing. It does gets a lil slow at times but the characters involved me as a viewer.

I wud have rated it an 8 but the lack of suspense n tension, which is a must in these kinda films, prevented me from being generous.

Someone posted the wrong synopsis. Here's mine without spoilers.

A cleaner forced to care for his ailing mother, finds a huge bag of money at his workplace. Unknown to him, the bag has various characters involved. A custom officer in debt, a loan shark, a scammer, an escort with an abusive husband and an illegal immigrant, all these characters cross paths and get themselves into increasingly deeper trouble as they attempt to cheat their way towards the ultimate payout.