“The Shameless” is a movie that showcases the great chemistry of two top Korean actors, Jeon, Do-yeon and Kim, Nam-gil. Jeon, Do-yeon, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, displays irreplaceable charm in “The Shameless”. Kim, Nam-gil’s strong acting skills complement the film’s depth. What started as a simple crime film transforms into a lingering romance, thanks to the significant roles played by these two actors.

As the movie begins, Jae-gon enters a dimly lit shopping alley where the lights haven’t yet come on. He pulls out a police badge. Jun-gil quickly wipes blood off his face. Jun-gil confesses to Hye-kyung that he killed Hwang, Chung-nam, and the police discover a corpse lying at the end of the shopping alley. The body is covered with a floral-patterned blanket. Hwan, Chung-nam’s girl friend pushes back the police officers who are trying to stop her and tends to the body lying in the alley.

“The Shameless” Information

• Director: Woo, Min-ho
• Cast: Jeon, Do-Jeon, Kim, Nam-gil, Park, Sung-woong, Kwak, Do-won, Kim, Min-jae
• Release Date: 2015
• Running Time: 118min

“The Shameless” plot, ending, overall review

plot

The police received a tip regarding a woman who entered her house with her lover, who is suspected to be the criminal Park, Jun-gil. When the police raid her house, Jun-gil’s lover, Hye-kyung leaves, and there is no sign of Jun-gil inside. The man with her claims that Jun-gil has already left after taking some money.

Hye-kyung, once a high earing “tenpro”(escort), is now struggling financially and working as a ‘madam” in a small salon in Seongnam city. She had been involved with J investment’s CEO in the past and owes him a substantial amount of money. Min, Young-ki, an executive from J investment, attempts to meet Jae-gon, but he ignores and bruses him off. Min, Yong-ki talks to Jae-gon again because his company’s CEO is concerned about the negative effects of Jun-gil and Chung-nam’s case. He asks Jae-gon to help resolve the issues related to Jun-gil and Chung-nam.

Min, Yong-ki tries to bribe Jae-gon with a meager sum, aggravating him. Meanwhile, Jae-gon continues to follow Hye-kying and even attempts to get inside of her house when she left her house. Jae-gon finally found Hye-kyung’s house and saw Jun-gil enter. Jae-gon his inside, pulled out a gun, and scared Jun-gil away.

Jae-gon hurries out and finds Jun-gil nowhere to be seen. Jun-gil attacks Jae-gon from behind and fight breaks out between the two. After a fight, Jun-gil runs away. Jae-gon lies to executive Min, returns money, and asks him to find out about Jun-gil’s cellmates. Jae-gon threatens the owner of the Macau Salon where Hye-kyung works and becomes the sales manager there using the name Lee, Young-jun, following in Hye-kyung’s footstep.

Jae-gon reveals that he is a friend to Jun-gil and insists that he can help her. However, Hye-kyung remains skeptical, claiming that she hasn’t been able to contact Jun-gil. When jae-gon tells her about Jun-gil’s recent appearance at a gambling house, she questions why there’s so much interest in Jun-gil.

Min, Young-ki approaches Hye-kyung and asks about Jun-gil’s whereabouts, pressuring her to pay off the debt. Jae-gon suggest her they extort the overdue debt, and they do successfully. Afterward, they share cigarettes, and Ja0gon inquires about Hye-kyung’s life before going into debt. She explains she went to get the debt and looks exhausted. Jae-gon takes Hye-kyung home and asks her to invite him over sometime. Hye-kyung coldly asks if he thinks we have become friends and goes into the house, but instead of climbing the stairs, she looks at Jae-gon through the window.

Executive Min calls Jae-gon’s senior, Detective Moon, and tells him that Jae-gon is strange and calls Hye-kyung to the motel seperately. Hye-kyung frigtens executive Min by pretending to call the CEO and gets slapped hard. While trying to force Hye-kyung to confess, Detective Moon got a call from Jae-gon. Jae-gon accused him of using coercion and confinement to investigate. Jae-gon comes to the motel and roughly beats executive Min, who is harassing Hye-kyung.

Jun-gil comes in front of Hye-kyung, who has been released after being investigated by the police. Jun-gil asks her for money again, saying they should run away together. Hye-kyung says she will try to get the money, and Jun-gil asks Hye-Kyung not to betray him. She asks Jun-gil if he knows about Yong-jun, and since Jae-gon already knew about his cellmates and deceived Hye-kyung, Jun-gil says that of course he knows Yong-jun. When Jun-gil finds out that Yong-jun works as a sales manager at her salon, he orders her to extort money from him.

Hye-kyung, who has complicated feelings after meeting Jun-gil, gets drunk and ruins work and returns home to find Jae-gon waiting in front of her house. She secretly seduces him and the two spend the night together. Hye-kyung prepares breakfast for Jae-gon. He tells her to give the money to Jun-gil and asks her to live with him. After hesitating for a moment, he tells her that was just a joke and leaves her house.

Ending

After Jae-gon maneges to bring the money, he lends it to Hye-kyung. She questions whether he truly means what he says about wanting to live together, and Jae-gon humorously brushes it off before leaving. When Jun-gil meets Hye-kyung, who brought money, and starts the car, the police attack Jun-gil and Hye-kyung’s car, but Jae-gon can’t get out of the car. However, when Jun-gil starts stabbing the detectives with a knife, Jae-gon comes out of the police car and points a gun at Jun-gil. Jun-gil slowly approaches Jae-gon, and Jae-gon shoots him to death. Hye-kyung is arrested on the spot and interrogated, and Jae-gon appears in front of her as a detective. Hye-kyung asks his real name.

As time passes, Jae-gon visits executive Min and asks about hye-kyung’s whereabouts. Jae-gon finds Hye-kyung and sees her living a miserable life caring for a drug addict. It’s raining and no matter how long he waits outside, Hye-kyung won’t meet him. Jae-gon enters the house and arrests the addict and his drug supplier. He then looks straight at Hye-kyung and says.

” My name is Jung, Jae-gon. I’m a detective and you’re a criminal’s lover. I did my job, not betray you.”

The police come in and pull out the addict and supplier, and Jae-gon also goes out. Hye-kyung takes out a knife from the kitchen, follows Jae-gon out, and stabs him. Even after being stabbed, Jae-gon pretends nothing happened to the other police officers to protect her. Hye-kyung breaks down and sobs. Jae-gon walks with difficulty, bleeding, with a knife stuck in his stomach. He mumbles Happy New Year for her.

overall

“The Shameless” is a crime movie, but also a captivation romance movie. Jeon, Do-yeon and Kim, Nam-gil portrayed the delicate love story of Jae-gon and Hye-kyung excellently. Where Jae-gon falls in love with Hye-kyung and suffers from his own lie, and Hye-kyung trusts Young-jun unknowingly, is betrayed, and suffers but eventually learns about Jae-gon’s true feelings for her. Plus, “The Shameless” that never gets boring. Jae-gon thinks about becoming like the criminals he works with in the shameless. I am captivated by the conflict inside of Jae-gon, who has to act like be a shameless to catch a shameless people.