The worlds of K-drama and the Italian mob collide in explosive fashion in Vincenzo, a sweeping if occasionally awkward new series that sees Song Joong-ki return to Netflix just a few weeks after Space Sweepers.
Song plays the memorably named Vincenzo Cassano, a Korean-born but Italian-raised consigliere for the mafia who lives in a swanky apartment, wears only the finest Milan-tailored suits and has boyish looks that belie his ruthless streak.
The show kicks off in Italy in gangster saga mode with Vincenzo travelling to a vineyard following the death of his boss, where he meets the head of another crime family. The conversation is tense and confrontational, but Vincenzo never flinches.
The deal he offers across the table isn’t accepted, but that doesn’t matter, because as he walks away he sets his real plan into motion. After a crop duster has sprayed the vineyard with petrol, he tosses a flaming Zippo lighter onto the earth and coolly steps back into his car, framed by the swelling blaze in his wake.
Back in Rome, Vincenzo is double-crossed by his late boss’ heir and, after foiling some assassins and a quick bout of revenge he escapes to Korea – although “escape” isn’t exactly the right word, as he seems to be a few steps ahead of everyone.
He heads straight to Geumga Plaza, a derelict building in Central Seoul, which he intends to demolish. Why? Because there’s a room full of gold under it that only he knows about.
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Naturally, things aren’t quite so simple, as the ruthless Babel corporation is trying to take over the building in a classic land development plot. Geumga Plaza is home to a disparate array of ramshackle businesses, each with an owner kookier than the last, and they are all led by Hong Yu-chan (Yoo Jae-myung), a human rights lawyer who attempts to save them from ruin.
Sadly, Yu-chan’s modest Jipuragi Law Firm stands little chance against the mighty Wusang legal offices. And who should be representing Babel at the firm but Hong Cha-young (Jeon Yeo-bin), Hong-chan’s daughter.
Vincenzo sticks out like a sore thumb in Geumga and is immediately treated with suspicion but also a faint air of reverence – his nonchalance and cocky confidence, not to mention his good looks, demand as much.
The Italian mob dressing is a novelty, but the conventions of K-drama are writ large across this show, which presents a David-versus-Goliath story and a relationship between an aloof, rich and confident man and a scrappy young woman that is bound to blossom into romance before long.
The K-drama trappings are also very evident in the show’s colourful staging and extremely broad comedy, which offer a counterpoint to the surprisingly crimson violence of the crime elements.
Beyond its on-screen pedigree, Vincenzo also features an impressive behind-the-scenes team, with The Fiery Priest scriptwriter Park Jae-bum assuming writing duties and the director’s chair being filled by Kim Hee-won, who drew strong notices for her show Money Flower.
The many moving parts in the series are for the most part handled well on their own, but the clash of genres occasionally has a jarring effect. This is a problem in the first pair of episodes but the balance evens out somewhat as the show settles into its groove by episode four.
Accentuating these tonal shifts are the different characters who embody divergent functions. The Italian characters are a pastiche of mob tropes, the Geumga residents are sympathetic figures that offer comic relief, and the Babel and Wusang people are mostly evil.
However, leads Song and Jeon, who broke out in the acclaimed indie film After My Death, have their work cut out for them, as their characters have to cross these stylistic divides time and again. Song gets off pretty easily, as he mostly has to deal with fish-out-of-water comedy, which sees him cursing in Italian – to the delight of fans – or insulting the bad food in Geumga’s incongruous Italian restaurant.
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Cha-young is introduced as a sneaky lawyer with no scruples who struts around and twists her face into an endless series of grimaces and scowls, which are all played for laughs. It’s a barnstorming comic display from Jeon, but it has the misfortune of coming straight after Song’s slick crime intro. Contrast can be effective, but this collision is a little too head-on.
It takes time for this image of Cha-young to gel with her roles as Yu-chan’s daughter and as a foil for Vincenzo. Once the scriptwriters manage that, Jeon’s performance begins to click.
Speaking of discordant elements, Vincenzo features a unique villain in the form of Choi Myung-hee (Kim Yeo-jin), a public prosecutor who joins Wusang and quickly dominates it. Myung-hee practises outrageous aerobics in public during the day and hires assassins at night. It’s a deliberately aggressive characterisation, but rather than being intriguing it can come off as a little silly.
Following its uneven start, Vincenzo closes out episodes three and four with dramatic climaxes which tighten the show’s focus considerably. There is plenty to look forward to over the next few months, but it may not always be a smooth ride.
Vincenzo is streaming on Netflix.
