I only needed to read the headlines for this casting story to think immediately, “Yes, it makes total sense, obviously,” because Seo Ye-ji (Rescue Me, Sado) is such a dead ringer for Su Ae (The Man Living in Our House, Take Off 2) that it makes perfect sense to cast them together in a movie. It isn’t just a facial resemblance, but a whole aura and mannerism similarity, as well as similar deep voices and manners of speech, that I find uncanny.
The film in the works is a psychological thriller titled Belief, and the official line is that both actresses have received offers and are considering it positively, but with no decisions yet made. The plot centers around a woman who is locked up in a psychiatric hospital by her family, who then witnesses a murder taking place there. It’ll be a film headlined by two women, still a rarity in Chungmuro (…and elsewhere), so despite Seo Ye-ji’s relative newness in the industry compared to Su Ae, her role will be significant. And while it took me a while to warm up to her (I blame Hwarang and Moorim School), I do find Seo Ye-ji completely compelling in Rescue Me, where I find that her Su Ae-like steely calm works well amidst the suspense and eeriness of the story. So it’s a pairing I’d be interested in watching, especially since I think they both hold their own in the psychological thriller genre.
Belief was selected in the Korea Creative Content Agency’s 2015 Top Creator Audition, and will be director Kim Tae-joon’s feature directorial debut. The production company behind the project is Opus Pictures, which produced The Man From Nowhere and A Frozen Flower and co-produced Snowpiercer.
The project will begin filming later this year, with the aim of a 2018 release.