Directed by: Jang Jin (장진) Starring: Cha Seung-won (자승원), Oh Jung-se (오정세), Esom (이솜), Go Kyung-pyo (고경표), Song Young-chang (송영창), Kim Eun-soo (김은수) Release Date: June 3rd, 2014
Man on High Heels is a gender-bending action noir film from director and award-winning screenwriter Jang Jin. Jang is responsible for penning some of the most unique and beloved productions out of the modern Korean cinema revival like Guns & Talks (2001), Someone Special (2004), and Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005).
Jang’s work feels fresh as it often spins traditional genre conventions in unexpected ways, and there’s typically a sense of playfulness within the drama that his characters radiate. While Man on High Heels has Jang’s signature markings all over it, it might be his darkest and most polished work to date.
Battle-scarred and known as the six-million-dollar-man for his steel plated skeletal reinforcements and said to never need bullets or handcuffs to bring in a suspect, detective Yoon Ji-wook’s (Cha Seung-won) superb fighting prowess is respected and feared equally on both sides of the law. However, what both the law and criminal underworld don’t know is that Yoon has been secretly planning to escape from the world he’s known, and to live out the rest of his days as the woman he feels he’s meant to be. To do this, Yoon must not only fight through one last remaining criminal investigation, but also through a dark gauntlet self-doubt and social barriers that stand in his way of realizing his new life as a trans woman.
Man on High Heels is a very interesting addition into the now well-known neo noir crime genre that Korean films have become known for. Elaborately choreographed fight sequences taking place in darkly lit hallways, nightclubs, and parking lots among suit-wearing and knife-wielding gangsters is a defining characteristic of the genre and best represented in films like The Man From Nowhere, The New World, and A Dirty Carnival. And while Man on High Heels borrows heavily from the best in the genre, it does a fantastic job creating its own set pieces.
While the near superhuman Ji-wook can singlehandedly take on dozens of foes and deliver similar beatings to what we’re accustomed to, Man on High Heels is sure to deliver a character like you’ve never seen before. Cha Seung-won (Believer, 2018) exudes a delicate gracefulness and femininity as he unleashes hell on to all those who cross him. One sequence in the rain has Ji-wook holding an umbrella as he brutalizes a dozen or so gangsters with one hand, all while not getting a single drop of water on him. The careful considerations Cha and the choreography team placed on posturing Ji-wook throughout the movie not only helped define the character, but it gave the film’s action sequences an identity of its own.
Man on High Heels tackles some very controversial and heavy subject matter as it relates to transgender issues. As someone not entirely familiar with the struggle and relevant sensitivities, I do feel like the film handles it very well. Cha Seung-won gives a deeply moving performance as the character Ji-wook. Through his eyes, Ji-wook’s depression and mental anguish surrounding his internal feelings about himself in conflict with what he sees in the mirror, or is being told by others, can be outright heart-breaking in the sadness that comes through. Being a Jang Jin film, it was these painfully serious moments of the movie that were most surprising.
From Ji-wook’s young partner he mentor’s on the force (Go Kyeong-pyo), to a beautiful bartender (Esom, Microhabitat, 2017) he seeks out for help on a case, what makes Man on High Heels work on levels beyond it’s daring approach to subject matter is how multi-dimensional each character is. Presumably thanks to yet another brilliantly written screeebplay by Jang Jin, even the antagonists, Heo-gon (Oh Jeong-se) and his older brother Heo-bul (Song Young-chang), are given moments to show personalities that go beyond what villains are usually afforded. It’s how every character, no matter how big or small, seems to have been given richly detailed history for the actors to work with that make each scene so fun to watch.
There is also a dualism expressed in Man on High Heels that is relevant and impactful. The Ji-wook character is mythified as the ultimate kind of man and idolized by the men on both sides of the law. The brutal nature of the fight scenes and the physical strength displayed by Ji-wook is uniquely contrasted with the character’s desire to live delicately and gracefully as a woman, complete with high heels and lipstick. The clashing of these archetypes is confusing for those around Ji-wook including his closest admirer and young protégé, detective Kim (Go Kyeong-pyo), and is reflective in ways that resemble society’s slowly growing acceptance of the transgender community.
Man on High Heels will be a lot for most to take in. Whether its the brutality of the violence, or the potentially uncomfortable themes of gender identity and sexuality, it’s understandable why audiences didn’t take to the film well. However, for seasoned film goers looking for something familiar yet fresh that they can appreciate on a technical level, while also delivering a wholly unique character that will surely go into the history books for transgender representation in film, look no further. Man on High Heels is a film ahead of its time, and brings the goods in bloody brilliant form for those who know what they’re getting into.
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