Innocence (2020 film)


Innocence is a 2020 South Korean drama film written and directed by Park Sang-hyun, starring Shin Hye-sun, Bae Jong-ok and Heo Joon-ho. It was released on June 10, 2020.

Plot

Based on a real-life story, the film focuses on Ahn Jung-in, a lawyer who decides to defend her mother after she is wrongly accused of killing someone at her husband's funeral.

Cast

Main

Casting

On November 8, 2018, actresses Shin Hye-sun and Bae Jong-ok were confirmed to star in the courtroom film Innocence. Han Yi-jin was confirmed to have joined the cast on December 11, followed by Tae Hang-ho on December 12.
The film marks Shin Hye-sun's first major role in a film. She revealed that one of the reasons why she chose this film is because her father advised her to. She added that "such female-led legal dramas are not common these days, and fans wanted to play the role of a lawyer someday due to clear diction." Shin used Elizabeth Sloane as a source of inspiration while preparing for her role.
Bae Jong-ok chose to play Jung-in's mother "out of thirst for an acting transformation" as her character looks 30 years older than her. She also accepted to play in the film because she "wondered how complicated and twisted relationships between neighbors can get if their respective families have a history between them."
According to director Park Sang-hyun, the role of the mayor could only be played by Heo Joon-ho as the character "is rumored to have perfectly pulled off a double-faced man full of greed and corruption."

Filming

Principal photography began on December 3, 2018 and filming was completed on February 28, 2019.

Release

The film was originally set to be released on March 5, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, promotional events were cancelled and the distributor decided to postpone the release to May 27. After a new cluster emerged in central Seoul in mid-May, the release was pushed back to June. On May 22, it was announced that the film would hit theaters on June 11. On June 4, it was announced that the film would be released one day earlier, on June 10.

Reception

The film topped the South Korean box office during its opening weekend, with an estimated 203,000 moviegoers. It surpassed 500,000 ticket sales the following week.