Hypersensuality (20 June 21)
The hyper-sensuality of Nevertheless, brought about by series upon series of close-ups I believe is no coincidence. Ep 1 is a character study of Nabi’s inner world. We see her actions/reactions, we hear her thoughts, but most importantly, we are made to feel what she feels.
Nabi is drawn to questionable men, and the cinematography serves to illustrate the why and the how. The first time she meets Jaeeon, the unrelenting extreme close-ups to necks, lips, hands, face...Moments of physical touch are also intentionally slowed down.
It's what Nabi is feeling. For her, time slows down as it would for someone enraptured. Every fleeting touch, every eye contact is made to hold weight. Everything is at 0.5x real time, so we can fully process Nabi’s inner workings.
In a crowded room, we are literally zoomed in on these two. Nabi can’t focus on anyone else, so neither can we. It’s a tightness of the shot that prevents escape.
And it cumulates right at the end with the extreme close-up of their eyes. Aren’t the eyes the window to the soul? Nabi seems to think so. You hear her think, “I’m sure we feel the same way.”
But there’s not much of Jaeeon that we know. He lives/works in a garage, he dropped out of another major to pursue art, he likes butterflies (but to what capacity?). Besides that, it’s all what Nabi observes and thinks - he smiles a lot, he seems fun.
The Nabi filters are on and when they aren’t we see him open her notebook without permission, ask repeatedly for her to go to his place etc. The way she is so drawn (let’s say whipped) for Jaeeon is so realistic that I feel so embarrassed for her. I can't count the number of times I knew something was amiss in my head, but the physicality drew me in. Nabi reminds me of my younger, more naïve self, which, though uncomfortable, makes a compelling watch.
And ultimately what’s so alluring about this show is not just the chemistry between the leads (though it’s certainly a factor!), but the easy banter between a host of interesting characters, college students who feel so true to life even in one episode.
I’ve always said I prefer college dramas to high school, because the relative independence of the students, those adults still trying to find their footing is just so interesting to me. If all things work out, this could be a great Nabi coming of age story.
