[HanCinema's Drama Review] "Nevertheless" Episode 1

Na-bi (played by Han So-hee) is a young art student whose name literally translates as butterfly. As the word butterfly has an obvious artistic interpretation, in Korean it's is often used as a pun. But Na-bi discovers to her horror that her boyfriend Hyeon-woo (played by Choi Sung-jae) has used it for his latest work of art in such a way that the pun doesn't really make sense, for a piece that's excessively sexually provocative. Humiliated by the public insult, and feeling like little more than a sex object, Na-bi tries to recover emotionally.

Advertisement

The opening for "Nevertheless" sets the mood chiefly by explaining the meaning of the title. Literally in Korean, "Neverthess" more directly translates as I know but. Which is to say, as Na-bi mulls over her relationship with Hyeon-woo, she sees the obvious red flags. She sees in retrospect how he would simultaneously flatter her as a woman but disparage her as a person. Na-bi is doubtful that love is even real because all she sees is manipulation in Hyeon-woo's past actions.

This is the context where Jae-eon (played by Song Kang) enters the story as a possible love interest. Yet also a seemingly too perfect one. Despite a complete lack of apparent internalized misogyny, Jae-eon has many of the same tricks Hyeon-woo did in regards to skinship and sweet poetic words. The main advantage Jae-eon has are his sweet, harmless eyes that Na-bi enjoys looking at just as Jae-eon enjoys looking at hers in turn.

The significance of this is greater than it sounds. The camerawork deliberately emphasizes how Na-bi can't visualize the upper part of people's faces following the breakup. It's too painful for her to engage with them that directly. This gimmick is dropped once Jae-eon enters the story, symbolizing Na-bi's willingness to open up to people again even as she remains vigilant and wary. Na-bi doesn't want to be hurt again, and just can't shake the feeling that Jae-eon is putting on a front to trick her into falling in love with him.

I like how "Nevertheless" quite ambiguous tonally about whether this is a reasonable fear, despite the drama otherwise functioning as a fairly straightforward romance. "Nevertheless" is all about hitting a certain mood. Observe the ambience, particularly how a proper score is deemphasized to instead focus on background noise. For better or worse, Jae-eon persists through that noise in every scene.

Review by William Schwartz

___________

"Nevertheless" is directed by Jang Ji-yeon, Kim Ga-ram, written by Jung Won, and features Han So-hee, Song Kang, Chae Jong-hyeop, Lee Yul-eum, Yang Hye-ji, Kim Min-gwi. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2021/06/19~Now airing, Sat 23:00 on jTBC.