Directed by: Jo Seul-yae (조슬예) Starring: Shin Min-a (신민아), Lee Yoo-young (이유영), Lee Kyu-hyung (이규형), Joo Seok-tae (주석태) Release Date: September 23rd, 2020
Whether it be sport, music, or business, the path to great success has proven uneasy for even the most talented and prepared individuals making the necessary personal sacrifices to reach the top. Fierce competition and physical limitations often open the door to various social and psychological pitfalls capable of consuming those who attempt such feats. And for a fighting chance at overcoming the odds, a special mindset that combines dedication and a kind of manic obsession seems necessary. There have been a number of recent films to brilliantly portray this pursuit of perfection on the individual level like Black Swan (2010), Whiplash (2014) and Steve Jobs (2015). Diva (2020) follows in the tradition of Black Swan and uses minor horror elements to underscore a dark and ugly psychological unraveling of its lead character, an athlete at the top of her game, and contrasts it with the otherwise beautiful and graceful appearance of her sport of competitive diving.
Heralded as the “Diving Diva,” Lee-young (Shin Min-a) is at the top of her game in the world of diving as she wins gold in competition after competition. Her childhood friend and diving teammate Su-jin (Lee Yoo-young) has also consistently performed well in competitions taking home silver or bronze medals, but feels to be forever in Lee-young’s shadow. One day, Lee-young suggests her and Su-jin try diving as doubles as a way to both stand on the podium together in top rank.
But their plans are interrupted one fateful night while driving home together after practice when the two of them plunge from a cliffside into the sea after losing control of their vehicle. When Lee-young awakes in her hospital bed, detectives question her about the accident as well as the whereabouts of Su-jin who has been declared missing. After claiming to have no memory of the night in question, Lee-young works to get back into top diving form. But when horrific visions begin to flash before her eyes, Lee-young’s once graceful dives suddenly take the form of frightening death drops and the battle between her inner demons begin.
Diva toys with a few interesting conceptual ideas surrounding the tragic “dive” that its lead character Lee-young takes. Being a celebrated athlete in the upper rungs of society, her sport of high-diving also quite literally sets her above everyone before she takes a visually dramatic leap from a tall platform before plunging into the depths of the pool waters. This beautiful display of athleticism that we cheer on has an evil twin specter in Diva that, as if through some twisted reflection on the surface of the water, represents a classic ‘fall from grace’ that we as the spectator also find mysteriously fascinating to watch.
While these interesting concepts drive Diva forward both visually and intellectually, the execution falls short of its ambition when it comes to the overall entertainment factor as a thriller movie. There are a few suspenseful moments like when Lee-young stands with her feet halfway off the high-dive platform while she works through the courage to jump as her cruel inner-voice of uncertainty and terror holds her back, but it becomes repeated and ends up feeling like a one-trick pony. Also, towards the third act when Diva moves into horror territory, the scary imagery gets reused from one or two of Lee-young’s earlier hallucinations, which dull the desired climactic effects.
Not looking a day older than her iconic role in A Bittersweet Life (2006) some fifteen years ago, the ageless beauty Shin Min-a does a fair job at bringing the Diving Diva to life. But either limitations within the script or directing decisions keep Shin from going full Black Swan and her emotional range seems to be kept on a tight leash and a satisfying full evolution into her alter ego just doesn’t manifest. Where Black Swan saw Natalie Portman go from scratching her itchy skin to eventually having small barbs protrude from it to symbolize that dark metamorphosis, Shin Min-a’s character is limited to a single cut on her forward that keeps opening up while she sleeps. Unfortunately, this wearing away of her bright outwardly appearing self as it slowly gives way to a dark inner demon remains stuck in its initial stage even through the end of Diva.
And despite the rather stiff performance from Lee Kyu-hyung as the diving coach, supporting performances are solid albeit a bit one-dimensional. While this brings a great sense of mystery to the character of Su-jin, Lee-young’s friend and teammate who goes missing, it makes it difficult to care about what is happening to everyone in Diva without a deeper insight into the minds of its supporting characters.
Aside from “diva” being one letter different than “dive,” the significance of the film’s title isn’t clearly driven home by the film’s conclusion. Diva seems to be saying something about the relationship between competition and jealousy, as well as the lengths one will go to stay at the top of their game. How one’s conscious and unconscious actions can work to ensure their position of dominance is explored well in Diva by looking at the unintended collateral damage that can come from such efforts between friends. But the film doesn’t take the “diva” concept into territory much farther than it being a valued position of fame within a talent hierarchy.
There’s some nice photography and other visually pleasing aspects of Diva that will only go so far with viewers. The dark metamorphosis mysterious and psychological unraveling on display is very watchable but falls short leaving a lasting impression. Diva ultimately feels to be stretching out a story that may have worked better as a short film which cause the inherent energy and curiously levels to diminish rather quickly.
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