Decision to Leave
MUBI | Release Date: October 14, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
85
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 44 Critic Reviews
Positive:
42
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 13, 2022
From the very first destabilizing moments of this movie, Park dazzles you with the beauty of his images and the intoxicating bravura of his unfettered imagination. And then, just when you think you have found your bearings, he unmoors you yet once more, blowing minds and shattering hearts, yours included. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 13, 2022
A love story by turns sprawling, despairing and invigorating. Read full review
100
Rolling StoneDavid FearOct 13, 2022
We expect cinematic fireworks with a stylist like [Park]. It’s his sense of restraint and his substance, however, that makes what could have just been a clever check-out-these-moves exercise feel like a genuinely emotional showstopper. Read full review
100
VarietyJessica KiangMay 24, 2022
After the world-conquering success of Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” and the small-screen domination of “Squid Game,” your new, sublimely accomplished Korean thriller obsession is here, and it is Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyMay 24, 2022
Crafted with unforced humor, ravishing visuals and commanding maturity, Decision to Leave intoxicates with its potent brew of love, emotional manipulation — or is it? —and obsession. Read full review
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 24, 2022
It’s a gorgeously and grippingly made picture and Tang Wei is magnificent. Read full review
96
The AtlanticShirley LiOct 25, 2022
If the erotic thrillers of the past explored the dangers of lust, Park Chan-wook explores the risks of longing. His take on the genre isn’t just sexy; it’s playful and mordant and convoluted—and it begs to be rewatched, for the electrifying performances and for every frame he composes. It’s the kind of film that, like an overpowering attraction, refuses to be ignored. The only relief comes from indulging it. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubMark KeizerOct 13, 2022
The South Korean director, working at the top of his game, drops tantalizing clues that are best analyzed in multiple viewings which, it can be reported from first-hand experience, will be very helpful. Read full review
91
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonSep 30, 2022
Park comes through with his typically vibrant, inventive command of tone and camera. Virtually every composition and camera movement from DP Kim Ji-yong is gasp-inducing, aided by some truly exciting blocking from Park. Read full review
91
The Film StageLuke HicksMay 25, 2022
There’s never a moment of grand revelation; rather a subtle, perpetual sense of understanding what’s going on, a fact that takes some pressure off the film and will likely make for a richer rewatch. Read full review
91
IndieWireDavid EhrlichMay 24, 2022
Park’s funny, playful, and increasingly poignant crime thriller is less interested in what Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) knows about his suspect than in how he feels about her Read full review
91
The PlaylistIana MurrayMay 24, 2022
Decision to Leave is ultimately a seductive romance, one made all the more fascinating by the boundaries the characters tread but never dare cross. Stories of longing are so tantalizing because they hang in that gray space of potential. The build-up is often more gratifying than the release, and Park wrings it for all its worth. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzOct 27, 2022
The way Park composes each frame is masterful. Sometimes the set-ups are intended to throw you off the scent of what’s happening, but wow, who cares when a film looks like this? Read full review
90
Little White LiesHannah StrongOct 19, 2022
While Decision to Leave might lack the grandiose scale of Park’s most-lauded work, its intimacy is no less apparent. Read full review
90
Screen DailyWendy IdeMay 24, 2022
With this seductive, serpentine neo-noir, Park Chan-wook raises the bar on the 2022 Cannes competition programme and reasserts his position as a peerless visual stylist. But there’s nothing superficial or superfluous about his style here: it’s all in the service of the film’s mercurial and at times disorientating blend of crime and passion. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleJosh KupeckiOct 19, 2022
The twists and convolutions can seem overwhelming, but Park sustains this high-wire act effortlessly. It’s about trust, you see, about letting go, and doing so will reveal as sublimely satisfying a romantic mystery as you're likely to see. Read full review
89
PolygonTasha RobinsonOct 17, 2022
While the procedural story takes up a fair bit of screen time, the emotional story is the center of the film, and the one that’s likely to stick with audiences longest and most clearly. As a story, it lacks the verve and dynamism of his early action films. As a portrait of obsession and regret, it’s remarkably sophisticated and satisfying. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsNov 1, 2022
Decision to Leave, director and co-writer Park Chan-wook’s dazzling, confounding, gorgeously crafted variation on a dangerously familiar film trope, takes its component parts and comes up with something no one has ever built before. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenOct 21, 2022
If all of this skewed romance doesn’t hook you, Park’s filmmaking choices likely will, including inventive transitional techniques that make this two-hour-plus movie unfold like a fluid dream. Read full review
83
Original-CinJim SlotekOct 26, 2022
If Decision to Leave is indeed intended as an homage to a genre, mission accomplished. Read full review
83
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 24, 2022
This is meticulous, beautiful filmmaking that is rich in meaning and fat with detail. Surrender to Park’s smoky, dangerous romance – vengeance can wait. Read full review
83
ColliderRoss BonaimeSep 26, 2022
The beauty of Decision to Leave is how Chan-wook can set his table with so many ideas, diversions, and elements, all making for an overly exquisite experience. Not only does Chan-wook blend detective mystery and romance, but Decision to Leave is weirdly funny, full of dark humor that fits in perfectly with everything else. Read full review
80
NMERhian DalyNov 2, 2022
The fog shrouds the storyline here, but makes it all the more intriguing and addictive. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyOct 21, 2022
Another director might have fashioned Basic Instinct from such voyeuristic clay. Park dances with the material. Eschewing sex in favour of simmering sensuality, Decision to Leave coalesces into an intricate ballet between the main characters, Park’s careful choreography and Kim Ji-yong’s acrobatic camerawork. Read full review
80
EmpireNick de SemlyenOct 19, 2022
A spry police procedural fused with an achingly intense romance, Decision To Leave keeps you off-kilter throughout, in the best possible way. Make a decision to see it. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekOct 14, 2022
The storytelling isn’t always straightforward. But stick with it, go with it, and revel in the pleasure of being spoken to as an adult. Read full review
80
We Got This CoveredAlejandra MartinezSep 28, 2022
Decision to Leave is a finely crafted film, with stellar performances from Park Hae-il (charming, and perfect as a detective torn between emotions and duty) and Tang Wei (also perfectly cast, lovely with a depth that’s just below the surface). Read full review
80
Film ThreatAndy HowellSep 14, 2022
Decision to Leave deals with the biggest subjects humans have to grapple with: love, sex, and death, and does so in what amounts to a serious, dramatic fashion. Read full review
80
CineVueJohn BleasdaleJun 10, 2022
Ultimately, Decision to Leave is like a beautiful airport novel of a film. It is far cleverer than it needs to be and is so acted with sly charisma. Read full review
80
Time OutPhil de SemlyenMay 25, 2022
Wei is magnetic as the would-be killer who uses her patchy Korean as an additional smokescreen to manoeuvre behind. She ties the detective in knots, a shapeshifter whose true nature is beguilingly unclear. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyMay 24, 2022
The shot-making is sensational, and the film knows it; the camera does things you’ve never seen before, say with focus in an interrogation room mirror, and the whole saga’s edited as though Park can’t wait to show you what’s up his sleeve. Read full review
80
BBCNicholas BarberMay 24, 2022
The investigation is exquisitely constructed, with a stream of revelations, some pulse-pounding action and continuous glimmers of wry humour. It's also a model of elegance and restraint. Read full review
80
Total FilmNeil SmithMay 23, 2022
A master filmmaker mines cinema’s glamorous past in a nostalgic neo-noir you don’t so much watch as surrender to. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 25, 2022
A delicious femme fatale thriller with mystery, tragedy and more than a few deadpan laughs. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeMark FeeneyOct 19, 2022
Decision has real velocity without in any way feeling hectic or rushed. Read full review
75
The Associated PressLindsey BahrOct 13, 2022
It lulls the viewer, along with the protagonist, into a misty, dreamlike delirium until you’re not even certain of what’s right in front of your face. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoSep 9, 2022
To this viewer, it develops into a pretty nifty piece of genre work, a thriller that’s expertly made even if it doesn’t quite hum like the best Park films. The fact that a good, well-made thriller feels almost like a disappointment given this creator’s pedigree is just a testament to the work he’s produced before. Read full review
75
TheWrapSteve PondMay 24, 2022
Richly dramatic and at times confounding, it’s a gorgeous piece of work that has the ability to move you in one moment and leave you cold in the next. Read full review
75
Vanity FairRichard LawsonMay 24, 2022
Decision to Leave no doubt deserves a repeat viewing. Even if the finale is still a slightly hard to parse bummer, there is all the other meticulous craftwork to appreciate and discover anew. In this instance, maybe there is no getting too close to the case. Read full review
73
Paste MagazineBrianna ZiglerOct 13, 2022
While not Park’s best work, nor a masterpiece, Decision to Leave is an extravagant and hopelessly romantic thriller that weaves past and present into something entirely its own. Read full review
70
SlashfilmRafael MotamayorMay 24, 2022
This is not as surprising or innovative as director Park's earlier work, but it is still a fascinating and exquisitely directed film about desire, regret, and love. The final moments will likely be talked about and discussed as much as any of his other work. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineChuck BowenSep 12, 2022
Throughout the film, one often feels the plot machinations working against Park Chan-wook’s poetry, though in a few cases poetry wins out. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony LaneOct 11, 2022
Having been twisted into bewildered bits by the convolutions of Park’s narrative, I was astonished, toward the end, to find it brushing against the tragic. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 18, 2022
Needlessly complicated and at times almost impossible to follow, its narrative inscrutability often coming across less as the result of nonlinear storytelling than as simply a cinematic affectation. Read full review
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