Wall to Wall Review: Confusingly Good?

Wall to Wall Review: When U-seung bets his future on buying an apartment building, he could never have guessed what awaited him in his new abode. Struggling to keep things together, he finds himself holding on to the last shred of sanity when he hears mysterious sounds in the wall and odd, scheming neighbours who seem to have something on their minds.

The film has a runtime of 118 minutes.

Wall to Wall Review

The world of apartment buying is a complicated one, full of debts, hurdles and a lot of headaches. Wall to Wall, Netflix’s newest Korean film, is a psychological watch that makes you question your sanity at times. Showcasing the hurdles of the common people who aspire to buy a house, the film is a nightmare in the first half and a bit confusing in the second, but with great performances, this one is at least a one-time watch.

The film follows Noh Woo-seung, a normal, everyday man, who finds himself in the midst of an issue when the apartment that he goes into debt to buy starts to make odd noises in the middle of the night. The first half is fantastic, and I found myself very disturbed as Woo-seung made one wrong move after another. Getting into a pump-and-dump scheme and picking a fight with your neighbours is a sure way of getting into trouble. However, aspirational and greedy, Woo-seung goes right ahead.

And then, things go off the rails. The film takes a rather odd, meandering dive into corruption and a “fight against the rich” mentality as it tries to justify the sounds. I will admit that I liked the idea of no one really understanding where the sounds are coming from – is it supernatural? Is Woo-seung losing his grip on reality? But the idea that we get in the end is nothing short of insane and unbelievable, becoming convoluted for the sake of being convoluted.

Is it bad? Not particularly. But it’s not particularly good either. The only thing that truly stands out is the performances. Kang Ha-neul, Yeom Hye-ran and Seo Hyun-woo are absolutely memorable, and it’s hard not to get sucked into the madness, however silly, thanks to them. Seo Hyun-woo is an unhinged antagonist, and his eyes scream “madness!” Meanwhile, Kang Ha-neul feels like the perfect protagonist. He is aspirational, even greedy, but it’s hard not to root for him because he’s all of us in some way or another.

Final Thoughts

Wall to Wall isn’t a complete disappointment, but I think the concept needed better thought. The execution is fantastic, as are the performances, but the twist seems a bit much. The problem isn’t that it’s far-fetched; it’s that the film doesn’t lean into the insanity enough and tries to play it a bit safe. That’s just unfortunate.

Also Read: Wall to Wall Ending Explained: Who Was Making the Noise? What Was the Truth?