The Handmaiden (2016) - flamboyantly twisted Park Chan Wook remake/adaptation of Fingersmith - relocating the story to 1920s-30s Korea, under Japanese rule. Done with all of PCW's signature sweeping style, cheeky provocation and scathing contempt for 'respectability' and social toadying. Technically it's amazing, camerawork worthy of Hitchcock and some really clever handling of the timeline from three different points of view. Shot through with all sorts of subversive commentary about sexism, empire, Japan vs Korea, and properly mucky/steamy in the right parts. But it's never quite as visceral or as downright WTF as, say, Lady Vengeance or Oldboy and it doesn't half drag on at more than two and a half hours. Worth seeing for sure, but I thought this would be absolutely superlative, and it's a little flabby imho. (Also I'm not sure about the kitschy ending.)
Whereas...
Lady Macbeth (2017) is a properly brutal, shocking, bleak costume drama (mid 19thc Northern England) as far from your usual bijou bonnet bibbling as it is possible to imagine. Florence Pugh downright astonishing as a young woman trapped in a hideous social milieu who ends up making life more exciting in all the wrong ways ... and the bodies pile up. Stunningly shot (maybe a bit too selfconsciously spare and minimalist in parts) and acted with scary commitment by everyone involved. At just under 90mins there isn't an ounce of fat on it and despite being very naturalistic and not awash with gore, it's one of the most disturbing and chilly horrors I've seen for years. Very explicit and at times so ruthless in making you look at things you would rather not, that it really shakes you up. It is brilliant. Watch if you're ready to be shaken.
