Another Netflix drama! Mask Girl is about Kim Momi, an ordinary office worker who does broadcast streaming at night beneath a mask, because she is deemed not pretty enough to be a star. A series of events then happens, prompting her to get complete plastic surgery and become unrecognisable.
This wasn't on my radar at all until the promos dropped and I realised Nana was in the cast! Being a long-time fan of After School, I try to watch most of her shows, and I've always been pleasantly surprised by her acting ever since her debut in The Good Wife.
I knew very little about the show going in so beware - this show is not for the faint hearted. Ep 2 was one of the darkest episodes of kdrama tv I've ever seen, reminiscent of the vibe more commonly seen in k-movies. But the fast-paced plot definitely makes for a very bingeable watch.
The storytelling was rather unique, with
each episode focusing on a different character. This meant that the same
scene would be shown from a different perspective, adding layers to
each scene and event. The writer and director handled this well, because
I felt like this device kept the mystery going and I never found it
repetitive.
One of the unique traits of this show is that there are three actresses for the role of Momi. Rookie actress Lee Hanbyul plays the role of pre-surgery Kim Momi, and she gave a superb and convincing performance as the Momi who was kind of meek but yet obviously dissatisfied with her lot in life. I think they also tried to "uglify" her in this show cos the actress looked really pretty in the presscon. Looking forward to her future works!
Nana plays post-surgery Momi, and once again, I was very impressed. I really loved the scene in jail where she fights back against the bullies, gets locked up in solitary confinement, and goes straight back to fight them again the moment she comes out, repeated several times, until the bullies started running away when they saw. It was just so funny and effective in showing Momi's character (and unhinged-ness).
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| Iconic. |
Go Hyunjung plays the role of older Momi after a decade in jail. While Go Hyunjung's acting was reliably good, the transition could have been better, because she kind of felt like a separate character from earlier Momi.
Apart from our three Momis, there were quite a number of other actors who appear in 1 or 2 episodes. Ahn Jaehong was disturbingly good as Joo Ohnam, an otaku who is a big fan of Mask Girl, and his entanglement with Mask Girl is essentially the catalyst for the rest of the story. Yeom Hyeran acts as Kim Kyungja, Ohnam's mother who is hell bent on taking revenge for her son, and omg, just give her all the awards. She was so fun to hate as the kind of mother whose son is perfect and can do no wrong, even though he was clearly no saint.
Another actress who stood out was Han Jaeyi as Kim Chunae, who was initially mistaken as Momi by Kyungja. I really liked the sisterhood/friendship portrayed between Chunae and Momi, and she did not deserve that tragic ending.
At a brisk 7 eps, Mask Girl is definitely worth watching and an easy binge over a weekend. I'm not surprised it's been no.1 on Netflix Korea, with a strong premise and storytelling, supported by outstanding performances and deft directing.