Today’s quick review: A Special Lady. The JC Group, a criminal organization specializing in blackmail, is on the verge of legitimacy, and Chairman Kim (Choi Moo-sung) is considering settling down with Na Hyun-jung (Kim Hye-soo), the secret mother of his son (Kim Min-seok). But the Group is riven from within when his ambitious lieutenant Im Sang-hoon (Lee Sun-kyun) strikes a deal with Choi Dae-sik (Lee Hee-joon), a crooked district attorney.
A Special Lady is a Korean crime drama about a power struggle within a crime syndicate. As Im makes his move against his boss, Na is cast out and must take drastic actions to protect her son. A Special Lady has a few points in its favor, including some clever power games, an unpredictable plot, and a real sense of danger for the characters. However, questionable plot logic and an overly convoluted story dampen some of the movie’s payoff.
A Special Lady draws a lot of its drama from its criminal setup. The JC Group has elevated blackmail to an art, and Kim, Na, and Im all wield their power with skill. Seeing the group fall to infighting is one of the main appeals of the movie, especially as Choi exerts his considerable influence. Na also makes for a decent protagonist, a resilient and resourceful woman who comes into her own when she is fighting for her son.
Still, A Special Lady can be messy in places. The movie comes up with an elaborate backstory for its characters, one that drives their interactions but requires a little too much investment from the audience to piece together. The characters are interesting at a first glance, but the movie does not flesh them out enough to make them sympathetic. Finally, Im’s takeover attempt is a mixed bag, a mixture of bold moves and questionable decisions.
A Special Lady has a flair for the dramatic, and its twists and turns keep the outcome uncertain until the very end. But the movie does not have the strong foundation it needs, and its coy flashbacks and morally ambiguous characters never find solid purchase. As such, A Special Lady finds itself outclassed by a number of other crime movies, even if it does have something to offer fans of the genre.
For a more compelling crime drama about a power struggle within a gang, try Miller’s Crossing or Road to Perdition. For a more restrained crime drama about an enterprise under a similar sort of pressure, try A Most Violent Year.
[5.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7549884/). I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for interesting hooks and mixed execution.