We are back with a brand new movie review, and this time we are talking about a rather provocative and also cute film, with a fresh take on BDSM relationships. Let’s talk about the Netflix production ‘Love and Leashes’.
In the search of a Master
Based on the WebToon ‘Moral Sense’ by Gyeoul, ‘Love and Leashes’ was directed by Park Hyun-jin. Its screenplay was written by Lee Da-hye and Park Hyeon-jin.
Jung Ji-Woo (Seohyun) is a regular office worker with a straightforward personality. Jung Ji-Hoo (Lee Jun-Young) becomes her co-worker when he is transferred to the department she works in.
Ji-Hoo is a rather introverted but also a very efficient guy. He excels at his work and is respected by the people around him, however, he hides a secret about a personal preference that could be misinterpreted by other people.
He is keen on S&M (submissive-master) relationships, and one day he decides to order a collar which ends up in Ji-Woo’s hands by mistake.
Ji-Hoo is certainly shy and scared about Ji-Woo’s revealing his secret in their workplace, and after a few misunderstandings and a lot of overthinking, he decides to talk to her. To his surprise her reaction is not as reactive as he expected and while making the assumption that she was interested in S&M too, he decides to ask her to be his master.
After thinking about it and doing a bit of research, Ji-Woo agrees on being Ji-Hoo’s master for a period of three months. During this period this pair explores the wonders of S&M whilst running into a few incidents.
Funny, quirky and romantic
‘Love and Leashes’ has a very cool take on S&M relationships. In the movie this fetish is illustrated as a preference that sometimes does not need to be sexualized, making it unique and interesting to watch.
Ji-Hoo’s personality was funny, cute, very human and also mature. This movie plays against the stereotypes that come with those who have the preference of being submissive, and I liked how his role was so multi-dimensional, strong and also fragile.
Jun-Young did a wonderful job at playing Ji-Hoo, his emotions and acting were absolutely heart-warming; Seohyun from her side also delivered a very interesting role that many did not expect. However, her role as Ji-Woo just demonstrated the great actress she is, I just really enjoyed seeing her in a more adult film.
More than S&M
Despite its premise, ‘Love and Leashes’ touches more topics than just S&M relationships. At a professional level, Ji-Woo has to deal with sexism at her work place and how some of her female co-workers are targeted at times by superiors. This movie also touches on topics such as consent in relationships and intimacy.
The characters were very well-written and even the side stories were solid and interesting to watch.
Even though the premise of ‘Love & Leashes’ seems a bit risqué, in reality this movie is a rom-com with an interesting approach to S&M. It has a very seductive and intimate filmography that goes back and forth with the fluff and cutesy moments.
This movie is available on Netflix and you can watch the trailer below.
