When I first saw the image that appears when you click on the title on Netflix for Wall To Wall, I assumed instantly that this film was going to be Kang Ha-Neul’s 2025 version of Forgotten. But it turns out I was entirely mistaken. While the latter was a shocking psychological thriller that left you flabbergasted even if you didn’t love the film, the former is, for lack of a better way to put it, a real estate apocalypse? Bit of a mouthful, but the only other way I can describe Wall To Wall as a gritty finance drama. What I love about Korean cinema is their ability to make anything basic a major thriller plotline in a big-budget film and roll with it. Whether it’s housing, the struggle of finding jobs, or learning to love yourself, it can all be turned into some scary stuff, and we would feel it was the most natural thing in the world. So, when I realized Wall To Wall was about a man trying to deal with housing debt, I was like, “Okay, this is going to be an interesting drama; Ha-Neul’s always fantastic in those.” But then, the second the film starts, it plays out like a thriller. The background score, the color grading, and the cinematography all point to thriller/mystery, but does the plot do it justice?
Personally, I think not. I suppose the film wants us to realize what a concrete jungle Seoul has become in recent years and how that affects apartments, quality, etc. It’s a film that is quite discombobulated, because while the plotlines all make sense individually, I’m not sure they mesh well together. See, I really enjoy a good domestic thriller, but this one just seems confused more than anything else, especially in the latter half. Without giving anything away, I think this is a film that is character-driven and focuses on the psychological effects of housing debt and then builds on that idea. It’s creative for sure and quite interesting as a premise, but I think the execution was quite lacking.
Wall To Wall tells the story of Woo-Sung, a young man who buys himself a house of 84 square meters in 2021 after taking out some loans. But a few years later, that dream apartment of his looks like a dungeon with no lights, no air conditioning, and soju bottles lying around everywhere. The film then follows Woo-Sung’s struggles with living in this apartment and how he can escape the whole thing, mentally and possibly physically. The film tackles themes of paranoia, anxiety, suicide, and more.
In terms of the cast, Kang Ha-Neul is certainly the superstar of this film, and every frame with him in it, I quite enjoyed. The film is randomly comical, and I’m not sure if this is because I find the actor so versatile and recently enjoyed his performance in “Tastefully Yours,” so I found some instances funny, in the otherwise serious film (which I think was on purpose). Unfortunately, I don’t think this film would pass the Bechdel test, which is super disappointing in 2025, especially with a plot revolving around something like housing. This is not to say there are no female characters, but their roles are not all that substantial. Yeom Hye-Ran continues to show off her veteran skills and is definitely a highlight in the film. I suppose in a similar way to “Parasite,” the more expensive places are warm-toned, while everywhere that Woo-Sung goes is cool-toned, but not in a beautiful, rainy, and sweet kind of way, in a gloomy and typical apocalyptic look kind of way. Frankly, I’m so tired of this; I wish more movies would look like Problemista now, just for some change.
In the way that Fair Play and Sanctuary (both irrelevant in terms of plot commonality here, but I need you to bear with me for a second) are both centered around romantic relationships (kind of) but play out like thrillers to be more impactful, Wall To Wall hopes to do the same. It shows us the dangers of wanting a home in Seoul (or just a big city) and the anxieties that come with having mountains of debt. There’s also commentary on young people today and how they’re not able to find happiness in the same things that their parents would’ve. All of this stuff is very interesting, but the final act of the film honestly doesn’t hit the way it should. Which is why the whole journey there becomes quite disappointing at the end.
We all know that in this economy, it’s almost impossible to own a house and be happy. I’m only half joking, but that’s kind of the whole point of this film. It dwells on our relationship with homes and living in them, rather than living for them. It then turns into a thriller with some violence and randomness that I personally would’ve just left out of the picture. It tries too hard to give us loads of twists, but none of them feel particularly shocking because the pacing of the film almost feels monotonous.
The best parts of the film are where we get glimpses of the thoughts going around in Ha-Neul’s head. The dream sequences are the cool bits, as is everyone’s paranoia about the noise in the building, but unfortunately, it’s not enough for us to truly get into the groove of the film. Director Kim Tae-Joon does a good job of presenting us with the psychological angle of Woo-Sung as a character. He thrives in making us feel almost claustrophobic while watching this film, which I quite appreciate. I suppose this film has some faulty wires, just like the apartment Woo-Sung lives in. At the end of the day, I can’t say I’m not going to recommend this film, because it’s quite interesting at least. I’d give this film 3 out of 5 stars. The extra .5 is specifically for Ha-Neul’s impeccable performance.
