Office romance gets a little kinky in the latest Korean Netflix production…
The Korean takeover of Netflix continues with Love and Leashes, a romantic comedy which as the title suggests comes with a bit of a kinky twist. Another webtoon adaptation, based on Moral Sense by Gyeoul, the film was directed by female helmer Park Hyun-jin, who has considerable experience in the genre, having worked on the likes of Lovers of Six Years, Remarkable Woman and Like for Likes. Headlined by a popular musical duo in Seohyun of Girls’ Generation fame and Lee Jun-young of U-KISS, the film launched on Netflix in early February, offering audiences something a little more adventurous for Valentine’s Day.
The film opens with Seohyun as Jung Ji-woo, a worker at a PR firm known for being uptight and fierce, who gets a surprise when she accidentally opens a package for her similarly-named new colleague Jung Ji-hoo (Lee Jun-young), finding a rather large dog collar and leash inside. Ji-hoo confesses to her that he’s actually a BDSM devotee, and in particular a sub looking for a master, and tries to convince her to take on the role. Although new to the scene, Ji-woo is attracted to him and agrees to give it a go, and the two enter into a sub-dom relationship which they try to work around their office roles. Matters become complicated when their feelings for each other start to get in the way, and as they face up to societal attitudes towards their lifestyle choices.
Anyone expecting Korean version of Fifty Shades of Grey is likely to be a bit disappointed with Love and Leashes, as it’s essentially a typical Korean rom-com with a bit of a twist, and despite its premise is at heart still a conservative and generic affair. Certainly, viewers lured in by the 18 rating and promises of explicit content won’t find what they’re looking for, as the film is very tame by western standards, with no nudity, sex or anything particularly racy. Instead, Park Hyun-jin uses the BDSM plot mainly as a plea for the societal acceptance of people who are different and to vaguely expose hypocrisy, and on this score the webtoon’s name Moral Sense is arguably a better, if less eyebrow-raising title.
To be fair, Park spends a good amount of the running time exploring the scene in terms of the different roles of the dom and sub, mostly through Ji-woo checking internet message boards – the film does get quite detailed in this respect, handily providing a bit of a checklist for anyone who feels curious after viewing. While there’s no real psychological or emotional depth to this, the film does feel genuine in its desire to represent its characters and BDSM relationships properly, rather than using them for cheap laughs or anything exploitative.
This aside, Love and Leashes plays out very much as a traditional Korean romantic comedy, from the usual initial cutesy awkwardness, through to misunderstandings, troublesome exes and all the usual obstacles thrown in the path of generic love, with subplots involving whacky best friends thrown in for good measure. Park does a perfectly acceptable job as director, and the film is reasonably well-made by the standards of the genre, with a bright and breezy feel throughout, successfully ticking all the necessary rom-com boxes without pretention and at a decent pace. It’s all very nice-natured, with the focus firmly on what amounts to a fairly innocent office romance, and from this angle the absence of sex and sleaze isn’t really a problem, at least for viewers with suitably adjusted expectations.
Crucially, both Seohyun and Lee Jun-young are on likeable form, and though their characters are thinly-written genre stereotypes, watching them bicker and fall in love in the usual way still makes for an entertaining couple of hours. The two have a fun chemistry, and while their pairing doesn’t exactly set the screen on fire, it’s enough to carry the film and to make its familiar story enjoyable – Lee Jun-young earns extra points as the sub half of the couple, which sees him donning all manner of different BDSM outfits.
Love and Leashes being on Netflix makes it an easy watch, and what it lacks in originality it just about makes up for in charm. Though Park Hyun-jin’s film might well underwhelm through its avoidance of anything explicit or Fifty Shades of Grey, it’s a solid Korean rom-com that’s boosted by an appealing lead pairing.