Married.. Single.. Divorced.. Adults Get It!
i waited months to watch it. And finished it the day it was released. Im just leaving a review because not everyone will get the heaviness of this series! I absolutely loved this series! I loved the storyline. I hate how much Seo-Yeon's manipulative ways reminded me of myself. She destroyed Jeong Won by playing on his weaknesses. She thought that she'd always have him and played with him emotionally. I loved seeing him detach himself from her as a mental and emotional crutch. The beauty that unfolded between him and In-ji made me want to love like that. She was gentle and he needed that type of gentle love. ughhh I wish this series was longer. I love seeing Gong Yoo in anything. His sad eyes just made this series all the more heartfelt! I do not understand why people rate this less than a 9. If you're an adult you'd get it.. I wish there were more series like this!Was this review helpful to you?
Red Pill / Blue Pill
A great comparison in the film referring to The Matrix's Red Pill/Blue Pill choice. Does one choose to stay in a happy fantasy or choose to face unpleasant reality?The Trunk (트렁크) is a 2024 8-episode drama with each episode being an hour long. This drama features middle-aged leads who are mostly Xennials with Seo Hyun Jin (1985), Gong Yoo (1979), Jung Yun Ha (1986) and firmly millennial Cho I Geon (1992).
This drama is directed by Kim Kyu Tae, who also directed dramas like It's Okay That's Love (2014), Moon River Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) and Live (2018) and based on the book "The Trunk," written by Kim Ryu Ryung (and adapted to film by Park Eun Young), who also wrote Elegant Lies (2014) and Punch (2011).
The Trunk is brooding and introspective. There are elements of mystery, although sometimes foreshadowing is overdone. Most events are predictable, but there are a few good surprises. The chemistry between characters is muted, and that fits the vibe of the show. This is an adult-rated show with drugs, smoking, nudity (woman's breasts, man's buttocks, soft sex scenes), suicide, blood and violence. It ends with a hopeful, positive note.
~~Plot
This is a story about Han Jeongwon (ML) and Lee Seoyeon (2FL), a toxic couple, and their journey of separation as well as No Inji and Yun Jio's independent trauma resolution.
In a manipulative effort to confirm Jeongwon's dedication, Seoyeon divorces him and employs a spouse-for-hire contractor to test Jeongwon. Broken by extensive childhood trauma and emotional manipulation from Seoyeon, Jeongwon experiences nightmares, depression and self-medicating with unknown drugs he receives from Seoyeon. He holds that he still loves Seoyeon but goes along with her spouse-for-hire plan with her promise that if he lasts one year, she will reconcile with him.
No Inji (FL) has been plagued by guilt since her youth. She feels that she inflicts bad luck on those she loves and takes up marriage contracting to feel less lonely in her life. Her marriage contract with Jeongwon is her 5th marriage, but she still holds on to her first love, whose life, she believes, was destroyed by her. She also navigates the unwanted attention of Um Taeseong, her violent stalker of the last 5 years.
In spite of their age difference, Yun Jio (2ML) truly loves Seoyeon. He is willing to put forth the devotion and affection that she seeks, but her intent is finding ways to control Jeongwon.
Simultaneously, we watch snippets of the future unfold as detectives recover a luxury brand luggage trunk from a lake and then a body. They work to untangle the means, motive and opportunity from the primary characters to bring justice to the victim.
~~Technical
I watched this on Hulu, and there were several times where the screen cuts were overlong, but that could have been Hulu's editing for potential commercial breaks. The camera work and audio was stable. I liked the use of focus/out-of-focus when the actors are in the same scene, which contributed to the characters' themes of self-absorption.
The settings were grand and impersonal, which fit the theme of the show. The lake setting was beautiful in nearly every shot, especially with the fog. The cinematography was underutilized for me and the could have provided more mystery or foreshadowing.
The English captioning was sufficient. I had one pet peeve were some times that Korean "No" was written as "Uh, No" and I'm not sure why. There were 2 or 3 times that the captioning had more written than I had time to read and I had to go back. There were also a few confusing conversation translations that didn't quite make it understandable in English, but the context made up for that in those situations. It was direct as possible, and anything that might be lost in translation was reiterated later.
~~Recommendation - 9.5/10
I really enjoyed watching this. I watched it in one sitting. There were a few parts that were skippable, all non-dialogue.
It is deep, but I never felt overly sympathetic to the characters. I did not cry or feel like anything was terribly unfair or unrealistic. The actors were all great for me, although everything had kind of a muted, drugged feeling, which I feel was part of the story. My favorite character was Um Taeseong. Kim Dong Won's acting was the best of everyone. Then again, I often have a thing for unhinged but believable characters. There was never any comedy, a few times I cracked a smile but even the humor felt a bit bleak.
The story felt cohesive, although the additional storyline with Jeongwon's best friend felt out of place and under developed. There could have been more backstory Inji's family, there were a lot of things unsaid. Seoyeon had no history other than being obsessed with Jeongwon, but sometimes that's enough explanation. The ending was hopeful, although not quite complete. It allows the viewer to decide on the final ending.
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Really interesting
Excellent acting by the ML and FL as you would expect from these actors. I could have watched this longer to see them recover further and hopefully find some joy. It should perhaps have been 1 or 2 episodes longer to really expand the character development. The atmosphere and visuals were amazing, though the house was so cold and unliveable.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
In Response To Negative Comments...
I've been seeing a lot of negative comments about this show saying that it's americanized etc. so I wanted to write a review in response to this.I disagree that this kdrama is trying to be more Americanized. I genuinely like that they tried to make something more suited for adult viewers with the dark themes, intricate plot, and some nudity. It's refreshing to see such an amazing cast take on a much more daring role and it really shows how talented they are.
I will say that the plot was a bit confusing at points. The jumps between present day, the past, and the future were done well for the most part but there were times where I wasn't sure where we were. Another negative is that I hate when shows split the main couple up after they've been through a lot because they need to "heal". I personally think it's a bad choice and unnecessary.
I will also say that the show could have used a bit more depth on the relationships between the characters, there was limited dialogue when the leads were on screen together and instead we just see them trauma dumping all the time. Maybe if the show had been slightly longer to accommodate some more character building, I would have liked this aspect more. Or even if they just got rid of the friend's plot line - this felt so unnecessary... like okay she doesn't want to just be a mom, she wants to work blah blah blah but like where did this story actually go? What was the point? They either needed to develop this WAYYYY more or take it out IMO. I wanted to see his ex-wife's downfall, I wanted to see the leads accepting this new love, I wanted to see more healing in the characters... What I really mean to say by all this is that I think this show could have been a solid 10/10 if they had a more solid focus on the emotional/psychological themes rather than throwing in some of the other side plots.
Onto the positives - I really like the relationship between the leads. Their chemistry was amazing and I felt compelled by their stories. It was heartbreaking at times too when you see how unsure the leads are about what love is meant to feel like and how they should be treated by their loved ones. I like to crochet whilst I watch kdramas and this was a show where I would just constantly stop and just watch because I was so hooked on what was happening. I know my paragraph on the negatives is so much longer but that's just because there were a few key positives that really make this entire show so worth watching.
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This review may contain spoilers
Slow-Burn + Contractual Marriage
Beautiful cinematography; the acting and chemistry are top-tier. I normally don't watch slow-burn type of drama because its not my cup of tea; the story is unique but lacking something, in my opinion. There's some stuff that is still unclear to me, especially the trunk. and I don't think killing the stalker and all the investigation were necessary; maybe sending him to jail was a much better consequence. and the ex-wife needed punishment; they let her off the hook pretty quick, considering what she did.Overall, I really enjoyed this. Seo Hyunjin x Gong Yoo acting & chemistry really carried the show; they got me blushing, giggling, and kicking my feet like a high school girl.
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Like the actual trunk - pretty but ultimately meaningless
Early in, it became clear that this show wouldn't be able to deliver on all everything it was promising. There was just too much dramatics and build up that felt unfocused, like suspense for suspense’s sake. Nothing the characters did seemed to make sense, especially Lee Seoyeon and the leads’ reactions to her. It just felt like this show was trying to be deep without knowing how to be. Somehow, I still followed along because I did feel some connection to the leads. That and a partially interesting soundtrack was the only reason I kept going, but in the end it just wasn’t worth it.Was this review helpful to you?
A DEEPER DIVE...
Gong Yoo.....I am truly blown away by his acting skill and the incredible risks Gong Yoo takes in his thoughtful choices of the kinds of work he decides to do.This is truly a beautiful drama...the art production is breathtaking, the acting superb, the cinematography off the charts. What a joy to watch 10 episodes of this amazing achievement.
I am saddened by the negative comments this drama has received, but alas it is not your average Korean Drama and many may not be ready for this kind of raw, sensitive and heavy piece. Like his other beautiful drama, A Man And A Woman, both are much deeper more complex dives into what makes us human with all our fragility and even through incredibly tough times, what makes us hold onto life and hope.
There really aren't many dramas of this caliber around....and this is one I'd beg you not to miss.
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Perfect acting. Be open to see the shadow love and the true love.
This one, is not for everybody. Is for mature, selectiv people, or ones that wants to overcome the toxic relatioships, who wants to go deeper into human psychology, into the complex characters. I liked it, the acting was great. I love Gong Yoo natural acting but also the acting of his collegues. I enjoyed the slow and the time to contemplate the characters and the subtle communication, this was great. Even if all relationships are toxic, with narciccistic and psychopathic characters, it gives you the opportunity to understand the dynamics and to seek healing, love that inspire you, autenthic connection. For me all the movies inspire me to go beyond to surch the meanings of life. And I learn a lot. You will not lost your time. What I want for future kdramas... to introduce the mental education, that is total absent, to help people identify easily the toxic and the healty behavior.Was this review helpful to you?
"Very emotional"
"This series is very emotional, and I loved it. I’m sure viewers who have reached a certain age will appreciate it because sometimes I think age should be included in reviews. I find many highly rated series too childish. I’m in my forties, and I really enjoyed it."
"Only the ending could have been better, and the music could have been nicer."
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VALE A PENA: ótimo ritmo, história satisfatória, bom narrar, excelente atuações
Antecipando as considerações, recomendo assistir, vale a pena.RITMO - ÓTIMO
Eu assisti esse drama em um dia, achei o ritmo ótimo os desdobramentos instigantes.
SÉRIE x DORAMA
Quanto à forma, pensando que se dorama é o equivalente a "novela" para nós, eu sinto que The Trunk se aproxima de uma série ocidental. Apesar de que, no último episódio, serviram os maiores clichés de um dorama clássico: um romance atrelado a destino, encontros e desencontros.
ATUAÇÕES - EXCELENTE
As atuações são a cereja do bolo. Todos impecáveis, sublimes, nada parecido com aquela plasticidade característica dos doramas. O protagonista é um COITADO, o maior foragido da coitadolândia, o que combina com o histórico do nosso Goblin. E a melhor atriz, disparado, é Jung Yun-ha que faz a personagem da primeira esposa, Lee Seo-yeon. Não a conhecia, mas virou selo de qualidade. Fiquei interessada em outros trabalhos dela. Todo o elenco escolhido a dedo.
HISTÓRIA - SATISFATÓRIA
Em relação a história, o conteúdo em si não é tão inovador quanto a premissa crê ser. É um drama sobre crise matrimonial e a dificuldade das relações a longo prazo, as expectativas de viver num mundo de aparências que pressionam certos ritos e comportamentos numa sociedade. O clássico: casamento é uma instituição falida. Tem uma tentativa de mistério e suspense o tempo todo, criando densidade e opacidade. Mas, o que me cativou foi a narração. Mais do que >o quê< está sendo contado, >como< está sendo contado. As sugestões, os paralelos entre os personagens, a mescla entre passado, presente e futuro. Apesar da narrativa pecar em alguns momentos evidenciando demais para o telespectador mais burrinho que estiver vendo e ainda não tiver juntado os pontos.
OVERALL - VALE A PENA
De modo geral, uma ótima série. Não exatamente marcante, não me deixou nenhuma impressão profunda. Mas, algo que estava investida e valeu a pena assistir.
Recomendo.
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This review may contain spoilers
Um Equilíbrio Entre Mistério e Romance...!
O drama consegue dosar romance e mistério na medida certa, prendendo a atenção de quem gosta de tramas profundas.O destaque vai para os personagens, que são complexos e bem construídos, cada um carregando camadas que vão sendo reveladas nos oito episódios. Essa profundidade dá um peso emocional ao drama, tornando-o envolvente.
O final, por sua vez, promete não satisfazer quem prefere respostas claras e definitivas. No entanto, essa escolha dá espaço para a imaginação do público, permitindo que cada espectador interprete o futuro dos personagens de acordo com sua própria perspectiva. Para mim, essa abordagem foi coerente com a história, eu gostei.
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Uma mistura de tudo…
Pra mim o dorama conseguiu dosar tudo na medida certa, seja no mistério, no romance, no drama; acabou conseguindo abordar um pouco de cada sem que ficasse tão cansativo.E o que me prendeu foi que pra mim nem tudo era tão óbvio; e essa mistura nos capítulos entre passado, presente e futuro me deixava louquinha, fazendo com que eu ficasse prestando ainda mais atenção no enredo pra não acabar perdendo algum detalhe importante.
E o que não falar da atuação de todo o elenco: simplesmente fabulosa! Gong Yoo e Seo Hyung Jin mais uma vez surpreendendo a todos!
Fazia tempo que não assistia um dorama que considero bem maduro, pra me preender tanto a cada capítulo. E ele retrata nuances de vários relacionamentos, o que acaba tornando a história interessante.
Gostei, mas não achei fabuloso! Pra mim os oitos capítulos foram suficientes para abortar tudo. Mas não é um daqueles doramas que considero sensacional, mas vale a pena assistir.
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