It
is downright ugly when the press and the government start colluding. When a
well-connected corporation gets in on the game, it becomes a perfect storm of
corruption. However, the world’s’ only honest talent manager will stand up to
them in Kim Kwang-sik’s Tabloid Truth (trailer here), which opens
tomorrow in Los Angeles and next Friday in New York.
While
paying dues at a large agency, Lee Woo-gon instantly recognizes the raw talent
of Choi Mi-jin, but his bosses prefer to push the questionable talent they
already have under contract. Striking out on his own, Lee builds Choi’s career
to the brink of superstardom. In a cruel twist of fate, a malicious rumor published
in an e-newsletter for elites romantically links Choi to a much older
congressman just as they start to enjoy real success. Lee struggles to control
the damage, but the media has already cast its verdict. When Choi subsequently
commits suicide, Lee vows to avenge her.
He
starts with the e-scandal sheet, but the small staff led by Mr.Park are just
lowly, resentful pawns in a much bigger game. After a rough introduction, Park
and his lieutenant Miss Kim help trace to the source of rumor, eventually
leading Lee to the national government’s Office of Planning and the O&C Corporation.
Unfortunately, Cha Sung-joo and his private security firm seem to have the drop
on the crusading manager, in a decidedly painful way.
There
is definitely something Zeigeisty about the film’s portrayal of digital tabloid
journalism and its obsequious relationship with government officials. The anti-corporate
pivot is rather predictable and overplayed, but the film sort of lives in a
paranoid place where Tea Party alarmism and Occupy thuggery intersect.
Tabloid is only Kim’s
second feature as a director and his first crack at the thriller genre, but he
shows a real command of pacing. Shrewdly, Lee is portrayed as a tough customer,
but not a superman by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, the film gets a
lot of mileage out of the savage beatdowns he endures, out of sheer
hard-headedness. Still, the chemistry shown in early scenes and flashbacks
between Kim Kang-woo’s Lee and Ko Won-hee’s Choi is surprisingly touching.
Those
familiar with Koran cinema will also recognize a host of familiar faces amongst
the supporting cast, especially Ko Chang-seok (from Quick, Hello Ghost, etc), who supplies comic relief as Baek Moon, Mr.
Park’s surveillance specialist, but keeps the shtick relatively restrained.
Park Sung-woong is also effectively cold-blooded and serpentine as the ruthless
Mr. Cha, whereas Jeong Jin-yeong convincingly plays Mr. Park as a man of
somewhat more years and considerably more mileage.
