Following up his role on “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” as a lead hearththrob, Kim Soo-hyun is taking on a very different role in his follow-up work. In “One Ordinary Day” he plays the somewhat dimwitted college student Hyeon-soo. First, Hyeon-soo borrows his father’s taxi without asking. Then he meets the enigmatic Gook-hwa (played by Hwang Se-on), a woman with her own issues in life. When their romantic evening takes a turn for the sinister, Hyeon-soo starts panicking.
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“One Ordinary Day” is based on the BBC drama Criminal Justice from some twelve years ago- which is in streaming purgatory at the moment as far as legal sources for watching it. The Hindi version is surprisingly accessible though. And the South Korean version is…somewhere in the middle. It airs on the Coupang Play streaming service domestically, and Viu internationally. So despite an English language version existing, you can only legally watch it in southeast Asia, since that’s where Viu services are available.
As for the drama itself, “One Ordinary Day” is a curious combination of form and function. The story’s an entirely serious investigative crime thriller taken from the perspective of the chief suspect. It’s not a genre generally associated with the South Korean media export market, and certainly not with Kim Soo-hyun. His performance here is remarkable in its sheer dejection. Hyeon-soo just keeps making bad decisions. This is the least mature role Kim Soo-hyun has done in years, and he’s only just barely still young enough to do it plausibly.
The pacing is more relaxed compared to the original British counterpart, with the first episode of the South Korean version comprising about half the first British episode in terms of plot. The extra detail mainly goes to characterization, making Hyeon-soo out to be more of a generally good kid, and Gook-hwa seeming more troubled emotionally compared to the British equivalents. All of this works to make Gook-hwa’s inevitable death hit that much harder.
This is especially true since by far the most logical theory is that Hyeon-soo blacked out from all the drugs they were doing. But the actual truth is still hard to guess. Director Lee Myeong-woo has a surprisingly methodological approach here. “One Ordinary Day” is actually a lot less melodramatic than its BBC equivalent, with drawn out deductions from police amplifying Hyeon-soo’s tension. He’s a helpless kid with no idea what to do- quite a departure from Kim Soo-hyun‘s usual confident heroism.
Review by William Schwartz
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“One Ordinary Day” is directed by Lee Myeong-woo, written by Kwon Soon-gyoo, and features Kim Soo-hyun, Cha Seung-won, Kim Shin-rok, Lee Seol, Yang Kyung-won, Kim Sung-kyu. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/11/27~Now airing, Sat Midnight on Coupang Play.
William Schwartz
Staff writer. Has been writing articles for HanCinema since 2012, having lived in South Korea since 2011. Started out in Gyeongju, then to Daegu, then to Ansan, then to Yeongju, then to Seoul, lived on the road for HanCinema’s travel diaries series in the summer of 2016, and is currently settled in Anyang. Has good tips for utilizing South Korea’s public bus system. William Schwartz can be contacted via william@hancinema.net. He also has a substack at williamschwartz.substack.com where he discusses the South Korean film industry in broader terms and takes suggestions for future movies to review.
[HanCinema’s Drama Review] “One Ordinary Day” Episode 1 (2021/11/27)
Source: Laban Lang Philippines
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