nitewcat

Riveting and Underrated

4 Minutes takes upon itself an ambitious story to tell and not only does it tell it well, it tells it in a way that keeps you engaged from start to finish. I don't think it deserves its current rating of 8.1 and I really don't understand why it isn't considered revolutionary for its genre. This is by far one of the best bls I've ever watched. Every single person involved in this drama did an excellent job. While the cinematography, direction and colouring was gorgeous throughout the show, this review will be focusing more on the storyline.

The story concerns itself with considering what happens to the brain in the 4 minutes it survives without oxygen and the framing of the entire storyline is based on this idea. The non-linear storytelling and the slow build up in tensions as viewers piece together the true, entire plot line as the story progresses is what makes this drama unique. Although many viewers decided that this was what made the drama confusing, I think this decision is what allowed the drama to reach its true potential and express everything it wanted to express effectively. The decision to follow the story in this way added to the mystery and forced me to actually turn my brain on and engage with the plot so that I could piece together what the drama was trying to convey.

The storyline itself picks at ideas of time, humanity and life and death. It explores these ideas thoroughly throughout its duration through its amazingly written characters. By far the main thing that kept me hooked to this drama was the portrayals of all the flawed, dynamic characters of this drama (of which Great was my personal favourite to watch). One thing I've often found frustrating in many dramas is how stagnant characters can be from start to finish. However, in 4 Minutes, every character has their own flaws and these flaws bleed into their relationships and the narrative, affecting both in a significant way and ultimately leading to development within our main characters. The characters actions actually have consequences on the plotline and no loose ends are left to tie up. One mark of clearly excellent writing in this drama is the lack of wasted dialogue and scenes. Every little detail had me thinking because every little detail said something, whether it was about the conflict, the characters or the relationships in the drama.

Moreover, the relationships between characters were so so interesting to witness. Our main couple was sweet to watch in every iteration. Seeing them come together over and over again despite their disagreements, as well as witnessing the implied longing between them through every 4 minute rewind, left me yearning for more time to watch them just be together. The fake out in their final minutes of the drama was also really funny and I caught myself laughing with them.

Our second couple/love triangle was one I thoroughly enjoyed watching as well, mostly because of how well presented it was. Although Korn and Tonkla hurt each other repeatedly throughout the drama, the screenwriter and actors ensure that the love and connection between the two is illustrated clearly no matter what gets between them. I enjoyed watching the inspector get used and tossed aside immensely and couldn't bring myself to feel bad for him, though I know this may be a controversial take. Despite the melodrama of it, I still enjoyed their arc and felt their ending was fitting, allowing for the extent of their love to be communicated.

The final thing I'd like to touch upon are the regrets that haunt the narrative from start to finish. It's a rather significant theme of the storyline and it leaves this drama with melancholic undertones which I appreciated. I also really loved the trope reversal whereby instead of our MC going back in time to fix everything, they are forced to deal with reality instead of fantasy and face their regrets. This, alongside all the other subjects of this drama, makes 4 Minutes meaningful in a way that other dramas fail to be.

Tldr; please give this drama a chance. It's worth it for its amazing characterisation, unique storytelling devices and its compelling themes ^-^

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