FANTASIA 2023: ‘Killing Romance’ Is Comedic Gold

Half absurdist comedy and half-murder plot with musical numbers, Killing Romance, is a storybook that opens up with “Rainism” as we meet Yeo-rae (Lee Ha-nee), a woman shot to stardom after she goes viral for setting a world record for drinking a lot of a soft drink. Directed by Lee Won-Suk, the film was screened as a part of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival programming in all of its pastel glory.

Grounded in viral social media celebrities, Yeo-rae launched her career after entering the Guinness World Record books, ending up as a popular model and actress with her own “ism,” Rae-ism. But just like in real life, a viral overnight sensation can come with a fast and embarrassing downfall, and in Yeo-rae’s case, it’s staring in a ridiculous sci-fi B-movie. Laughed out of South Korea, Yeo-Rae finds peace and romance on a mostly isolated run by Jonathan Na (Lee Sun-kyun)—a so-called environmentalist who starts off as someone you immediately marry only to change into an absolute monster person.

That eruption of the horrible comes into focus seven years later, when the majority of Killing Romance takes place as Yeo-rae has to reckon with her life once she returns to Korea. Her now mustache-twirling husband tasks off his mask to be the narcissistic, controlling, and absolutely violent person who treats Yeo-rae as a prisoner to play with instead of a wife. But when she meets her neighbor Bum-woo (Myoung Gong), an anxious student and super fan, the duo decides to get rid of Jonathan by any absurd means necessary.

A musical-comedy that also serves as a love letter to the Wes Anderson-esque use of sets, props, narration, title cards, and color, Killing Romance has immaculate production quality, stellar over-the-top acting, and a whole cast that is larger than life in the energy they bring to the film. One of the best films of the festival, Killing Romance, is weird, campy, hilarious, and actually offers a cathartic revenge for anyone who has lived with a horrible spouse.

While the film is visually decadent, with every scene perfectly blocked and layered with imagery that calls to the narrative in candy-colored pastels, it’s the actors that sell it all. Lee Ha-nee, Lee Sun-kyun, and Gong Myoung are fantastic trifecta of characters that share no similarities but work in perfectly against each other and together.

For his part, actor Lee as Jonathan is an absolutely terrible person. Director Lee Won-suk captures that horrible narcissism in Jonathan’s environment, and actor Lee plays against it well, exaggerating everything in the highest order, from the giant muscled portrait of himself to almost dying to win a sauna bet, it all works. And in his humor, the writing is sure never to imbue him with humanity. A grifter, first and foremost, Jonathan Na is so incredibly fun to hate, and Lee Sun-kyun throws his all into bringing the eccentric monster person to life. From musical numbers to physical comedy, actor Lee does it all with the commanding and infuriating presence that his character calls for.

For her part, actress Lee Ha-nee is fantastic and resilient and walks the perfect line of being sympathetic and absolutely frustrated as Yeo-rae. You feel for her, you root for her, and claiming her freedom and self is so extremely cathartic. Every musical number and every moment of silence builds her character as she moves from passive wife to determined heroine. She’s fantastic in every way, effervescent and funny; everything she does, even in her well-deserved rage, works. But what truly gets me is her ability to make you feel any emotion needed while laughing uncontrollably as she tries to live. Actress Lee is powerful in her role in just about every way.

The final member of the leading trio, Gong Myoung as Bum-woo, is such an admirable and adorable loser that everything he fails at is endearing. He’s quiet, a follower, but his heart is what shines through. A perfect addition to balancing Jonathan’s narcissistic malice and Yeo-rae’s justified rage. While each character provides a different kind of comedy, Bum-woo’s gullible behavior, softness, and naivete help him stand out from the comedic forces he shares the screen with.

A visual delicacy with tremendous performances, Killing Romance is phenomenal in every single way. While there are clear nods to inspiration from Wes Anderson and his comedic visual storytelling, this film stands on its own, in absurdity and sincerity all the same.

Killing Romance was screened as a part of the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival.