Innocence (PG13)

Starring Shin Hae-Sun, Bae Jong-Ok

Directed by Park Sang-Hyun

Big city attorney Jung-in (My Golden Life’s Shin Hae-Sun) returns to her childhood home where her mother Hwa-Ja (Designated Survivor: 60 Days’ Bae Jong-Ok) is accused of poisoning the guests at her husband’s wake. Turns out mummy dearest has dementia. Does that revelation exonerate the accused? 

Not so fast, counsellor. As the lone wolf lawyer digs deeper into the case, she also confronts personal demons (her abusive father is the reason she left home) and dredges up a decades-old criminal conspiracy linking her family and the town’s shady mayor (Kingdom’s Huh Joon-Ho) and his sycophants. 

Park Sang-Hyun’s busy whodunit plays like a 16-part drama serial compressed into a two-hour feature. So be warned: answer a WhatsApp message or take a restroom break at the inopportune moment, you might miss a plot point. The courtroom scenes are pretty routine but when the truth is finally revealed, the ending packs an emotional punch. (***)

Photo: Shaw Organisation