Aloners: HONG Seong-eun’s economical, tight drama, follows a young woman who seems to relish in her solitude until two deaths (her long-ailing mother and a barely-acquainted neighbour) force her to re-evaluate her life. The protagonist, nicely played with quiet anger by GONG Seung-yeon, is not particularly pleasurable in her constant quest to drive all human contact away. However, the small transformative moments she goes through make her interesting. JEONG Da-eun plays a bubbly, bumbling work colleague who is instrumental in the change, in a fine performance. Aesthetically, the film is effective and low-key, from the intimate camerawork of cinematographer CHOI Young-ki, the no-frills editing (done by director HONG herself), to the discreet musical score by composer LIM Min-ju.