By Brian Susbielles

Park Chan-wook remains one of South Korea’s most distinguished filmmakers with his amazingly unique turns in what story he tells. Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengenance and The Handmaiden are part of an eclectic resume that has continued to shock and awe us, giving us reasons why his commentary is so important. Now, he’s back with one of the bleakest movies in recent years which also is hilarious in its commentary about South Korea’s capitalism and how it eats out the workers for the benefit of just a few. Using “The Ax” by Americn author Donald Westlake, Park Chan-wook develops No Other Choice as his sympathetic message for struggling workers like his contemporary Bong Jong-ho. 

Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) has proudly worked for a paper company for the last twenty-five years and gets a nice eel to eat he interprets as good work done in his service. Except, it’s not that; it’s a parting gift as the company, now partially-owned by American investors (surprise, surprise) restructures it where Man-soo and others have found themselves out of work, despite the time they have been there. With the industry shrinking and more unemployed people than spots to stay in the business, Man-soo, demoted to jobs with less pay that demeans his worth, is determined to fight on for a job he rightfully deserves – even if it means planning to kill his competition.

His main reason is to keep the idyllic lifestyle with the home his family has owned for generations and prevent being foreclosed on. Cuts have been made where some things have been canceled, and their two dogs are moved out to be with his wife’s parents in the meantime. Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin) understands the reality of the situation also, but is more upbeat and willing to take work herself as Man-soo languashes from job interview to job interview, unaware of what he’s actually doing. Man-soo targets three people who stand in front of him for a major corporate job but finds himself struggling to commit the ultimate deed in murder.

The lengths Man-soo goes through to plan the perfect murder is absurd and hillarious, bumbling his way through victim after victim. It becomes cartoonish, which is perfect for how the acts go, and Park’s camerawork really gets all the angles to how Man-soo is coming along with his plans and protecting his own dumb ass from getting caught. Throw in all the match cuts and double exposure moves, and you get how deep Park is going with this. The screenplay Park wrote with Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, and Lee Ja-hye puts to paper all these elements and small pieces of the puzzle to Man-soo’s extreme reactions and his fear about Mi-ri possibly having an affair with a younger, more suave man, and how he could be found out about his serial killing ways.

No Other Choice gives us everything we expect in a Park Chan-wook film with his continuing jokes and physical action that is just absurd to a degree that we accept it as a possibility in a man’s desperation for dignity. These scenes are sublime and thought out with their visuals. Even within the grotesque, it really highlights the worst of humanity that is still possible as the middle-class shrinks and people get angry. There is no way out of it, and when they’re told there is “no other choice” but to downsize and make human jobs redundant, expect such deep, disturbing behavior. In the eyes of Park, there will always be a very comedic look at it, even though it is covered in blood.

4.5 Stars

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