10 "Important" Movie Characters Who Were Mere Plot Devices

6. Mi-Do - Oldboy

Can you remember the first time you watched Oldboy? It probably blew your mind with its harrowing twist and brutal cinematography. The story of Oh Dae-Su isn't one for the faint hearted and stays with you long after the credits have rolled. So successful was this cult classic that it recently inspired a somewhat disappointing remake starring Josh Brolin. After a night of heavy drinking our protagonist wakes up to find himself locked in what seems to be a creepy hotel room. This captivity lasts for 15 years before he is released and tasked with finding out why he was imprisoned in the first place. Along the way he picks up a young woman companion, beats down a small army of goons with a hammer and eats a live octopus. All in all a standard couple of days. Most of you know the twist by now, and if you don't why are you reading this? It turns out that Mi-do, his new lover, is actually his daughter. It's a truly grim realisation for the viewer that he has been manipulated to the point of murder and incest by his tormentor. What the protagonist does next varies in the original and the remake but the issue I want to focus on is the twist itself. Mi-do is essentially a non-character; she exists only to fulfil the film's depressing reveal. Of course this was intentional as too much characterisation may have spoiled the surprise but in the end what more is she than a glorified plot device? The solace to be taken from this is that she is an example of when this is done right. She doesn't need to be any more fleshed out than she is. Take notes Shyamalan; Oldboy is how you pull off a successful twist ending.