The Assassin In ‘The Old Woman With The Knife’ May Have Lost Her Edge

It’s awful to be abandoned when you are old and sick, says the veterinarian played by Yeon Woo-jin in the film The Old Woman With The Knife. He’s talking about the stray dog brought to him by Hornclaw, the legendary assassin played by Lee Hye-young. Hornclaw does not usually let herself get emotionally attached, yet his words prompt her to bring the dog home. Emotional attachments are a liability for an assassin.

Known as the Godmother, she works with an agency that describes itself as exterminators. They kill people they consider vermin, fulfilling client requests that often ask for the most grisly and punishing deaths. Hornclaw has been an assassin for most of her life, but now that she’s in her 60s she worries about losing some of her edge. She’s still killing people, she’s still lethal, but health issues have made her vulnerable and some might argue less effective. Her enemies have no problem telling her how useless she is now that she’s old. Those comments are likely to get them killed.

Pagwa, played by Kim Kang-woo (The Tyrant) runs the pest control organization she works for and he’s ready for a change—maybe less killing for noble reasons and more killing for profit—but that would mean getting rid of the principled Hornclaw. He hires a young thug, named Too-woo, played by Kim Sung-cheol, who really enjoys killing with or without justification. Too-woo shadows Hornclaw, supposedly to help her, but he has his own reasons to get rid of her.

The vet who helped Hornclaw’s stray dog is a nice guy, much too nice to become involved with assassins, but that’s just what happens when he helps Hornclaw. The cool-headed assassin, who has successfully avoided emotional attachments, suddenly finds herself adopting a dog and a family she wants to protect. The female-centered action thriller, which premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, explores issues of aging, control and the cost of violence.

Lee ’s raw portrayal of Hornclaw makes it easy for viewers to feel her scars. Even when the character seems calm, there’s an undercurrent of fear, a wariness that makes her a great assassin. Lee has a long history of memorable roles, appearing in dramas from Boys Over Flowers to Bitter Sweet and in films such as In Front Of Your Face, which was a Cannes Official Selection, and The Novelist’s Film, which won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale 2022). Kim Sung-cheol, who plays a loathsome villain in this blood-splattered film, recently appeared in Death’s Game, Hellbound 2 and Sweet Home 3, while Yeon Woo-jin can be see in the dramas A Virtuous Business, Daily Dose of Sunshine and Thirty-Nine.

The Old Woman With The Knife is based on the novel Pagwa by Gu Byeong-mo, author of Apartment Women, a New York Times’ Editors Choice. The novel was adapted for the screen and directed by Min Kyu-dong. Distributed by Well Go USA, the film was released in South Korea on April 30 and opens in U.S. theaters on May 16,