[Limelight] Her Sociopath and Sorrow Not in the Scenario

Eyes Full of Life and a Lamb-like Smile... Jeon Jong-seo in the Movie 'Call'
Playing a Murderer with a Cheonyeokdeok Face... Delicately Portraying the Process of Becoming a Perpetrator
"A Character Who Sees and Enjoys Even Life-or-Death Issues as a Game"
Enhanced Lines and Stage Directions for Acting... Also Influencing Screen Composition

In the film "Call," actor Jeon Jong-seo leaves a strong impression. With a natural, unpretentious face, she portrays the murderer Oh Young-sook. It is not a typical combination of madness and passion. The delicate process of transforming from victim to perpetrator is intricately depicted. Even her eerie laughter is imbued with meaning, adding richness to the visual experience.

Oh Young-sook is an unfortunate woman. She spent her childhood in a psychiatric hospital due to antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. After being discharged, she is effectively confined in a remote mansion in Boseong, Jeollanam-do. She undergoes exorcism rituals from her stepmother (Lee El) that border on abuse. She finds a glimmer of hope in a single phone call. Twenty years later, she learns about her precarious future from Kim Seo-yeon (Park Shin-hye), who lives in her house.

The face she shows before committing murder, which takes up half of the running time, blurs the line between good and evil. She curses her stepmother in soliloquy but then kindly treats Kim Seo-yeon as if nothing happened. She even says she will save her father (Park Ho-san), who died in a gas explosion 20 years ago. Jeon Jong-seo does not simply depict this as a process of building rapport. She expresses it as a prelude to antisocial behavior. This is an acting choice not specified in the script.

(Jumping and sitting on the bed, Young-sook looks at her face in the mirror) "You know, I just had an interesting thought? Maybe I could bring your dad back to life?" (Seo-yeon hears Young-sook's words. Her trembling lips firmly close.)

Jeon Jong-seo does not look into the mirror. She lies down on the bed holding the phone receiver. She looks at the ceiling, laughs playfully, and then subtly blinks her right eye. This moment simultaneously hints at a meticulous personality and irrational madness. Oh Young-sook is a sociopath. She is skilled at controlling emotions and manipulating others' feelings. She shows a gentle smile like a meek lamb until she secures a favorable position.

Jeon Jong-seo explained, "She is a character who views and enjoys a serious matter involving someone's life or death as a kind of game. I wanted her abnormal thoughts to appear on an innocent face. I thought that was the face of someone enjoying a game. When combined with unpredictability that can strike anytime and anywhere, it could heighten tension and anxiety from the start."

The delicate acting also appears in the conversation after Oh Young-sook confronts her stepmother, who tries to kill her. The script does not specify detailed stage directions.

(Young-sook pulls a chair, sits facing her stepmother, and places a fire extinguisher in front of her. The stepmother freezes) "Why are you doing this?" (The stepmother looks very flustered. Her ritual attire, once neat, is disheveled as she trembles and speaks) "A funeral will be held for your future. I believe this is the best way." "Hahaha."

Jeon Jong-seo elaborates on the lines and stage directions in her performance. Oh Young-sook approaches her stepmother with slumped shoulders, asking with a sad expression, "Why are you doing this?" When no answer comes, she shouts, "Why did you kill?" When her stepmother replies, "A funeral will be held for your future," she laughs as if insane, then suddenly straightens up and strides toward the closet where the fire extinguisher is kept.

Unlike the script, Jeon Jong-seo has Oh Young-sook listen to the full story from her stepmother before searching for the murder weapon. Through this, she reveals both the sorrow and betrayal of losing even a glimmer of hope. It also emphasizes that Oh Young-sook is far from a psychopath who impulsively commits horrific crimes. It hints that she has been suppressing explosive energy that appears later in the film. She said, "Thinking from Oh Young-sook's perspective, that felt natural."

"The script was written in a static way, so it required a lot of research. Oh Young-sook is a child with terrifying destructive power. She could easily eliminate someone like her stepmother. I thought there had to be a clear reason why she endured all kinds of abuse. I saw it as a daughter's tender heart yearning for her mother's love. She probably expected to be warmly embraced someday. When such hope is cruelly shattered, anyone might give a hollow laugh. Someone like Oh Young-sook would even unleash violence. That's why she laughed madly. Like a mischievous child."

Jeon Jong-seo's detailed acting analysis also influenced the cinematography. A representative example is the scene where she laughs as if insane, bending at the waist in front of her stepmother. The camera lights her face seen between her legs from behind and her shoulder marked with whip scars from the front. Each highlights Oh Young-sook's grotesque side and deep wounds. Director Lee Chung-hyun said, "It was almost a shot created by Jeon Jong-seo."

"During rehearsal just before filming, she bent over and laughed like a person whose strength had drained. It was an action not specified in the script, but it felt strange and eerie, which I liked. I immediately discussed with cinematographer Jo Young-jik how to capture it. We revised the plan several times to match Jeon Jong-seo's interpretation of the role. She is an actor who can rationalize her role with instinctive sensibility. Her immersion is considerable. After finishing a take, she sometimes cannot even remember how she acted."

The habit of easily immersing herself in roles sometimes comes with pain. Jeon Jong-seo fell ill after acting out Oh Young-sook's intense emotions. She said, "The heat from a boiling kettle does not easily dissipate."

"Every time I released intense emotions on set, my whole body felt hot. It was hard to sleep. I think this is also part of the process of creating a role. I want to meaningfully capture my current face, which I will never see again, in the film. That is the reason I make movies."