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James Marsh

5/5 stars
The year 2024 is turning into a banner one for Kim Go-eun. The Korean actress follows up an eye-catching turn as a young shamanist priest in horror hit Exhuma with an exceptional performance as a headstrong social misfit in E.oni’s mould-breaking romantic comedy Love in the Big City.
Adapted from a novel by Park Sang-young, which also provides the source material for TVing’s new K-drama series of the same name, it tells the story of Heung-soo (Steve Sanghyun Noh), a young gay man and aspiring writer, who meets the whirling dervish Jae-hee (Kim) while both are studying French at university.
Jae-hee has recently returned from studying in France. Her brazen attitude towards social mores and academic regulations immediately sets her at odds with her classmates.


Her penchant for hard drinking, late nights and casual hookups triggers rumours, which she can only put to rest by defiantly flashing her chest to the entire class. Not since Jeon Ji-hyun’s pugnacious protagonist in My Sassy Girl has a heroine been this forceful and fun.
Fearing similar treatment, Heung-soo is desperate to keep his sexuality under wraps, while still actively looking for a partner. His sole attempt to come out to his mother only inspired her to pray fanatically for him to be “cured”. Jae-hee alone seems to understand him, and share his club rat lifestyle.
In an attempt to keep their critics and detractors at bay, the unlikely pair move in together and, over the years that follow, form an inseparable bond that helps both navigate the trials and tribulations of modern urban life.
But, if they are both ultimately looking for love, how long is their unusual domestic arrangement really sustainable?

While the set-up of a rebellious young woman and her closeted best friend might not be the most original for a street-smart comedy, E.oni’s mature and unflinching execution elevates the subject matter from frothy gimmick to the level of searing social commentary.
Korean society’s rampant homophobia and unrepentant misogyny fall between her crosshairs repeatedly, whether in the workplace, on social media or between the closest of friends.
Jae-hee and Heung-soo are not merely ciphers to address these malignant societal prejudices, but sympathetic, fully realised characters who operate with a level of humanity and authenticity rarely seen in such a conventionally lighthearted genre.
As a result, what emerges is not just one of the most intelligent and insightful romantic comedies in recent memory, but also one of the year’s most accomplished and rewarding films.
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Kim Go-eun as Jae-hee in a still from Love in the Big City.

Kim Go-eun as Jae-hee (left) and Steve Sanghyun Noh as Heung-soo in a still from Love in the Big City, directed by E.oni.

Steve Sanghyun Noh as Heung-soo (left) and Kim Go-eun as Jae-hee in a still from Love in the Big City.

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Kim Min-ju as Ga-eul in a still from Hear Me: Our Summer. Photo: KC Ventures Co., Ltd & Plus M Entertainment & Movierock Inc

Roh Yoon-seo as Yeo-reum in a still from Hear Me: Our Summer. Photo: KC Ventures Co., Ltd & Plus M Entertainment & Movierock Inc

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Song Joong-ki in a still from Bogota: City of the Lost (category: TBC), directed by Kim Seong-je. The Korean crime drama showed at the 2024 Busan International Film Festival. Photo: Plus M Entertainment and Watermelon Pictures

Kwon Hae-hyo (left) and Song Joong-ki in a still from Bogota: City of the Lost. Photo: Plus M Entertainment and Watermelon Pictures

Lee Hee-joon (left) and Song Joong-ki in a still from Bogota: City of the Lost. Photo: Plus M Entertainment and Watermelon Pictures

A still from Bogota: City of the Lost. Photo: Plus M Entertainment and Watermelon Pictures

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Park Jeong-min as royal military adviser Lee Jong-ryeo in a still from Uprising. Photo: Lee Jae-hyuk/Netflix

Cha Seung-won as King Seonjo in a still from Uprising. Photo: Lee Jae-hyuk/Netflix

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Korea’s rampant misogyny and homophobia are highlighted in this intelligent romcom, boosted by a fine performance from Kim Go-eun


Korea’s rampant misogyny and homophobia are highlighted in this intelligent romcom, boosted by a fine performance from Kim Go-eun.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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Review | Love in the Big City movie review: Kim Go-eun leads mould-breaking Korean romantic comedy

Korea’s rampant misogyny and homophobia are highlighted in this intelligent romcom, boosted by a fine performance from Kim Go-eun