The Beauty Inside tackles the old adage of “beauty is in the inside” with a compelling and refreshing take well worth its course .

Caution : if you poke at it too much , it will definitely fall apart but for what it’s worth which is : a soft focus on a topic infused with romance ; it nails it .

The Beauty Inside doesn’t aim to be its predecessor as a social commentary and it’s quite clear from the get go that this movie just wants to explore what romance could be for someone who changes their body everyday . You will not get profound quotes on acceptance and image . Far from it . However, one gets a portrait of loneliness from the male lead and a tour de force from the female lead .

And that leads me to the standout here : Han Hyo Joo was terrific in this ! Her character portrait and her portrayal which is refreshingly far away from the infantile rom com woman was astounding ! She helped with the gravitas , nuance and emotional resonance of this movie that this was a total tour de force of talent !

This movie is also very well crafted . The hues and tones were just right and the motif of furniture was cleverly built in with the whole theme . The cameos of top Korean stars makes the movie super cool too.

OVERALL- A cleverly crafted romance that works despite itself. I say “despite itself “ because it really could have knocked it out with a more punchy social commentary and shorter run time . Those were just cons working against the movie. However , if the story compels you , go for it .