Squid Game
Ten Second Review: Visceral and compelling, Squid Game is a great watch, if a touch oversold.
It is difficult to escape the hype for Squid Game. It seems I can’t go online for very long without seeing an article, comment or meme about the show. It is either set to become Netflix’s biggest success yet or is already depending when you read this. The joy I feel can’t be denied that a gory South Korean mystery series will hold that title. It really speaks to the ability of good content to triumph over heavy advertising and the power that word of mouth still had in the way we share culture.
The show itself follows a collection of characters with one thing in common; huge debts. When each is individually approached to play in a tournament of games for money, they willingly go, but when they find out what losing entails, how many will want to stay?
This is obviously a very surface reading of the series and at its heart it seems more a story about class and a study of desperation than anything else (but I wanted to keep the description as free from spoilers as possible).
Between an incredible ensemble performance (with special credit to Lee Jung-Jae and HoYeon Jung in particular), where the emotion leaks off the screen, coupled with a bold aesthetic and edge of your seat storytelling, Squid Game really is a fantastic watch (if you don’t mind a healthy portion of gore).
Pernicious critics seeking to devalue the film will talk about the lack of originality and the show is certainly built upon parts of media that has come before it. However, references in many films and TV shows are celebrated and as the director makes no secret of his influences, this criticism seems weak.
My own criticism with Squid Game is much less it’s fault, than a problem that was thrust upon it; hype. It was not heavily marketed to an international market, but rather spread by word of mouth. By the time Netflix were actively pushing it and every media outlet had a think-piece, the force of recommendation actually began to weigh the show down. It’s difficult to watch it without the ringing in your ear of what feels like everyone screaming about how good it is. It is good, but maybe not as good as this volume suggested.
It can be difficult to not let hype enter your mind (or review) when watching something. Squid Game is great; it examines the desperation of an individual in a capitalist system, the restrictions to class mobility and the grossness of upper class nonchalance towards suffering all wrapped up in the colourful, yet very brutal, microcosm of the game. It would be easier to watch without the expectation, but I’m not surprised it spread by word of mouth so quickly. If you don’t mind gore, politics and subtitles, it’s a must watch.
