What Is the Story About?
Seong Gi-hun is a divorcee who stays with his mother. When he is not chauffeuring, he spends his time betting on horses, gambling away his mother’s hard-earned money. After losing a lot of money, Gi-hun is drowning in debt and he is forced to sign away his body parts as compensation for his rising debt. One night, he gets offered a chance to participate in a series of children’s games to win a huge cash prize. Will Gi-hun accept? Or does it seem too good to be true?
Performances?
Squid Game is a web series that excels at pretty much every aspect, which includes the casting and acting. Lee Jung-jae is perfectly cast as the debt-ridden Seong Gi-hun. Jung-jae takes the character on a brilliant story arc, by surprisingly not changing the character by much towards the end of the series. He is a man with a past and prefers not to face conflict after his first traumatizing encounter but that doesn’t necessarily make him a bad person. He is a surprisingly complex character and Jung-Jae does a good job in doing that onscreen.
Speaking of actors playing complex characters – Oh Yeong-su, Jung Ho-yeon and Park Hae-soo all give an outstanding performance. The characters they portray have so many layers and much depth which the actors (mostly) manage to portray on screen. Wo Ha-joon also deserves a special mention for his on-screen presence. His role also added another layer of depth to the film.
Analysis
This web series doesn’t really feel like a web series. At least not the way the TV series is crafted. The first half of the first episode might be a little slow, but the show quickly manages to make up for it with the pacing of the remaining episodes. The premise, the final plot, the cinematography, the casting, the acting, the set pieces, the production value, character depth, character arcs – you name it, the web series has managed to nail them all.
The acting is so fundamental to this show, mainly due to the amount of on screen characters. Sure, there are only about 8-10 main characters who appear on screen, but there are another 15 side characters who have nuanced backstories of their own. And all of them are perfectly cast, even the guest roles, and while the actors and casting director deserves a mention – the script which gave us such a rich story with nuanced characters deserves a special mention of its own. And that is not all that the script provides.
The story of the TV series mainly asks us an important question – how far will a human being go in their desperation? While we have seen many variations of this question asked in movies and TV series before – it has never been asked like this before. Think about it – a group of people are made to play a children’s game, but when they find out that the losers are killed off, they immediately want to leave. Normally, in “game thrillers” like ‘Battle Royale’ and ‘The Hunger Games’, the characters are not given a choice – you participate or you die. Here’s where Squid Game differs from the rest, their “captors” allow them to return to their lives if the majority among them decides to quit playing. And surprise, they end up quitting (even if it is by a tight margin).
And that is one of the major aspects of the show that is so brilliant. Choice. Two hundred plus desperate individuals are given the choice to return to their debt-ridden lives, but over a hundred and eighty return… due to desperation. And by choice. It is when we are desperate, we will know our true character – this show explains it really well. The show uses it well as a plot device as well when Seong Gi-hun goes to complain about the two hundred or so deaths to the police – which they do not believe (which makes sense, unfortunately for Gi-hun).
Another thing the show manages to do is to show us a convincing perspective of the creator of the Squid Game. While we are given an example of people who are in debt and in desperate need of money, on the other hand, the Squid Game creator has so much money that he doesn’t know what to do with it. He has become bored with life and doesn’t feel life is worth living anymore. While the show does not try to justify Oh Il-nam’s actions, we are given some understanding as to why he wanted to be a part of the game. Two very different viewpoints that finally meet, right in the very middle.
And that is not even counting the varying dynamics between characters such as Ali & Cho Sang-woo, Seong Gi-hun & Oh Il-nam, Jang Deok-su & Han Mi-nyeo, etc., the character arcs of Kang Sae-byeok & Cho sang-woo and the character depth of various main and side characters such as The Front Man, the pastor (AKA Player 244), Ji-yeong and many more. And all of this is not including a side plot which features a cop who tries to find out what happened to his brother.
Squid Game has some brilliant sets and the production value is top notch. The South Korean film industry has been making waves on the international stage with brilliant shows such as ‘Kingdom’, ‘Vincenzo’ & ‘Stranger’ and Squid Game only adds to this brilliant list. Besides the top notch acting and some excellent writing, the show delivers in nearly every other department – including direction, cinematography and music.
Overall, Squid Game is a brilliant must-watch TV series. This show manages to cover multiple genres in nine episodes such as thriller, mystery, investigation, crime, drama, action, adventure, among many others. There is something for nearly everybody, and due to its pacing, it is definitely binge-worthy.
Other Artists?
There are multiple other actors from Squid Game that deserve a mention. Anupam Tripathi, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Joo-ryoung and Yoo Sung-joo are few of the actors who deserve to be recognized for their nuanced performances in this web series. (Child actor) Cho Ah-in, Kang Mal-geum and Kim Young-ok all have small on screen roles, but they have a lot of depth in character and they help in progressing Seong Gi-hun’s story.
Music and Other Departments?
The set department and casting department needs their special mentions. The music is hauntingly brilliant and the cinematography keeps glued to the seats as much as the film script. The final execution AKA the directing definitely deserves praise.
Highlights?
Acting
Compelling
Story
Plot Twists
Set Pieces
Drawbacks?
Slow Start
Did I Enjoy It?
Oh hell yes.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes. A definite must-watch.
Squid Game Review by Binged Bureau
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