Laced with poisonous black humour and deliciously vindicating moments, this blistering indictment of patriarchal abuse and religious hypocrisy would make Chekhov’s jaw drop to the floor. Three wildly different sisters are hit by life crises all at once. Thrifty, self-harming doormat Hee-sook (Kim Sun-young) is spurned by her goth daughter and diagnosed with cancer. Mi-yeon (Moon So-ri), a well-off church choirmaster and model of piety, discovers her husband’s affair. A PTA meeting forces alcoholic playwright Mi-oak (Jang Yoon-ju) to confront the trainwreck she is. The harrowing cause of each person’s dysfunction is revealed at their father’s birthday, when the youngest brother exhibits another level of crazy.

The extremity to which these unforgettable women are pushed dramatically and emotionally is what makes this film so addictively watchable. Even as they endure cringingly painful experiences, and act shockingly cruel or beserk, they only invite our compassion. The whole cast is astounding, but Moon So-ri as Mi-yeon outdoes herself in a masterclass on how to traumatize your love rival for life.

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