[Ishani's Picks] "A Model Family" Is A Tense Thriller That Has Mastered Pacing Like No Other

Netflix has a brand new original up for your consideration and it stars two of the most luminous actors in the industry, Jung Woo and Park Hee-soon. Here's why I think it is the perfect thriller that will check all your boxes.

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Spoiler Alert!

"A Model Family" is a 10-episode Korean series that revolves around one ordinary man desperate for cash and his descent into the dark and murky world of crime. Dong-ha, played by Jung Woo, is a college lecturer and the breadwinner of his family. He has a teenage daughter and a little son, who needs a heart transplant as soon as possible. At the same time, Dong-ha's relationship with his wife, Eun-joo (played by Yoon Jin-seo) is teetering on the verge of divorce, for more reasons than one. He has used up the money meant for his son's surgery to take out a loan and bribe the University Director in hopes of gaining tenure.

Dong-ha's twisted fate that unravels hereafter is prefaced by a line from Shakespeare's "King Lear", that sets the tone for the series from the get-go.

Men must endure

Their going hence, even as their coming hither;

Ripeness is all

"Tragedy turns man into a pitiful creature", he infers, with a foreboding tone, almost predicting what's to come. At the exact point when his life seems to be falling apart, he encounters a car full of cash and two dead people. Without so much as a second thought, Dong-ha grabs the cash and later buries the bodies in his backyard. As much as it looks like Dong-ha has a plan, especially with how instinctively he takes step after step, he doesn't seem to have the slightest clue about what he's getting himself into.

Soon enough, he starts drawing attention and things spiral out of his control. With a deadly drug cartel and the police on his tail, Dong-ha becomes a slave to his circumstances - a tragic hero destined for doom.

"A Model Family" is as crisp and affective as you could hope for, with each episode spanning around 40 to 45 minutes each. The world-building and character sketches are incredible, to say the least, immersing us into a helpless world that is as gory as a car crash but you just can't look away.

The plot develops fast and slow at the same time and this alternative inertia contributes to an addictive pacing that is characterised by palpable tension and suspense. At times, there's barely enough room to breathe and other times, there's a sustained period of inaction that is just as frustrating as it is unnerving. The haunting background score gives the narrative a Western tinge but it never loses its identity as an inherently Korean work that is nonetheless, universally resonant.

Jung Woo and Park Hee-soon (who plays Kwang-cheol), give us some of the best performances of their lifetimes in this work and the outstanding impact of "A Model Family" is owed to their impeccable acting. Yoon Jin-seo and Park Ji-yeon-I are forces to be reckoned with, driving the anticipation of the plot to perfection.

The cast has unbelievable synergy that ties the story together and amplifies its twisted charm, so much so that you're left craving a second season. In conclusion, "A Model Family" is an elegant piece of crime fiction that you do not want to miss.

By Ishani Sarkar.

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"A Model Family" is directed by Kim Jin-woo-II, written by Lee Jae-gon, and features Jung Woo, Park Hee-soon, Yoon Jin-seo, Park Ji-yeon-I, Kim Sung-oh, Shin Eun-soo. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2022/08/12, Fri on Netflix.