‘Decision to Leave’ is a romantic mystery | Cannes review

In Decision to Leave, a picture-perfect detective's murder investigation slowly goes off the rails when he finds himself fascinated by the victim's enigmatic wife

Decision to Leave finds South Korean director Park Chan-wook at the absolute top of his game as he breathes new life into a not-so-classic detective story. The fiercely paced first half is a twisting police procedural that engrosses you with its clever editing and a brilliant score by Jo Yeong-wook before pivoting to a romantic exploration of two people trapped in life patterns finding liberation with each other. While it's not as subversive as his last film The Handmaiden, Park has a knack for using genre movies to explore deeper themes whilst never being less than entertaining.
Park Hae-il's performance as Inspector Hae-jun joines the pantheon of great detectives while Chinese actress Tang Wei gives the performance of a lifetime. The Oscars should keep an eye on them.

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Hey! I'm Karl. You can find me on Twitter and Letterboxd. I'm also a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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Karl Delossantos

Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.