This is one of those films where you can't help but improvise. It has those scenes where you shout out brilliant, but then proceed to make a few alterations to the already produced script to make the thing workable, if not believable.

There are many awful south Korean films out there (for whatever reason, most of them seem to be romantic comedies)-- this is not one of them. Unfortunately this is no "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" or "Sorum" either. There are a handful of brilliant scenes in this film, including one particularly claustrophobic segment that reminded me of a permutation of Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 2. Unfortunately, these moments are mired in irrelevance, overacting, and implausibility.

By all means, have a drink, take the film in -- but be prepared to throw a huge amount of constructive criticism at your TV. Be prepared to start writing a screen play, maybe take up non-linear editing as a hobby.

This Scarlet Letter is about the resemblance of the detective's life story to the murder mystery he is trying to solve. Complex emotional relationships and human nature's darker sides are explored in this captivating suspense drama about a cop whose lust for love threatens to get in the way of his professional life.

Ki-hoon is guy that doesn't mind an erotic adventure. Even though he is married to charming and beautiful Soo-hyun, he engages in a passionate affair with his wife's friend night club singer Ka-hee. As if things weren't complicated enough, he suddenly starts being attracted to murder suspect Kyung-hee whom he earlier believed to be involved in the killing of her husband. Can Ki-hoon finally overcome all the irresistible temptations he encounters in his life ? These and other questions will be revealed in The Scarlet Letter.

It presents a Korean all-star cast in Han Seok-Gyu, Seong Hyeon-A and the late Lee Eun-Ju.It is a must-see as for Asian movie fans. A great thriller as well.Highly recommended for everyone who loves thrillers.

An entirely misrepresented film (lesbian cover, Reeeeeeely?) with truly Tarantino level twists bogged down by Desperate Housewives style plot minus the laughs.

First of all, this film's pacing is a mess. Over developed scenes stretch on for a quarter hour while an entire opportunity for a superb subplot is squeezed into 45 seconds.

Moreover, characters are built up steadily only to end up all but irrelevant while important relationships are glossed over.

Furthermore, the cynical poster shot of the two naked women in bed leads to nothing more than a minor footnote in the entire tale...

The token lesbian moment looked quite literally as if it were tacked on just to rake in a few extra sales... Pretty poor showing... Seriously, what the hell were the marketing people thinking? Oh yes, they were probably cynically thinking of sales...

OK, with the bad out of the way...

This film had its glorious moments....

The acting and characterisation were first rate, all the major characters were excellently portrayed with top rank performances. Special props to the portrayal of the detective: equal parts charismatic and total shitbag.

The sound editing was excellent.. Clear vocals with excellent ambience in every scene. Additionally, the classical music score and incidental BGM were without fault.

But best of all, the camerawork and editing: Top notch... The cinematography is some of the best I've seen at this budget level and really played to the strengths of the storyline... Intimate closeups; dreamy, floaty vistas, Jagged, claustrophobic macros.... 10/10 and worthy of note for students of the genre.

And THE SCENE... You'll know it when you watch it: Visceral enough to give Tarantino a hard-on.

All in all, a worthwhile watch.... Just don't go in there for the lesbian scenes.