No Other Choice Review

No Other Choice is Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of the horror novel The Ax and changes its setting and themes to modern South Korea.

Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is a manager at a paper company that gets bought by an American firm, resulting in Man-su losing his job. When Man-su is unable to find another job at another paper company, he decides to take radical action and murder three of the most qualified men also looking for jobs in the same industry.

No Other Choice has been long in the making. Park originally announced his intent to make the film back in 2009. The long wait was worth it since it was a critical darling and festival favourite. No Other Choice was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival and won the International People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It was South Korea’s selection for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, but it wasn’t nominated.

No Other Choice played like a Bong Joon Ho film because of its socio-economic themes. Bong is best known for the Oscar-winning film Parasite, which was a witty and twisty indictment of the capitalist system. A lot of South Korean cultural exports have been critical of the nation’s economic issues. The most obvious is Squid Game, which shows desperate people competing in a game where the last person standing wins a life-changing sum of money. “Gangnam Style,” which seemed like a silly dance song, was actually about people living beyond their means to keep up appearances. In No Other Choice’s case, it showed how the jobs market has become overly competitive and turns working people against each other.

No Other Choice looks at a lot of major issues, whilst also having a Korean flavour. No Other Choice showed a dwindling job market, resulting in workers turning on each other. They were victims of heartless corporate decisions as automation and AI usage increase. As a Brit, I can relate to the issue of foreign companies stripping our firms and industries. Considering the current economic situation, No Other Choice was too relatable. If things don’t change No Other Choice will be prophetic.

The Korean-specific circumstances were due to the idea of employee loyalty. Man-su was employed by Solar Paper for 25 years, and his reward was being made redundant. He ended up going to an unemployment support group since being made redundant was such a shock to workers. Man-su’s potential victims had different experiences and desires. Goo Beom-mo (Yeom Hye-ran) was similar to Man-su since they wanted to get back into the paper industry; a job in another industry wouldn’t do. They felt like the Korean versions of Hank Hill. It wouldn’t have been surprising if one of them say “I sell paper and paper accessories.” Another paper man, Ko Si-jo (Ch Seung-won), took up a job as a shoe salesman so he could support his family, and he was a sympathetic character trying to support his family.

The Korean-based issues made No Other Choice similar to the Japanese family drama Tokyo Sonata. Both films showed loyal company men losing their jobs and showed how it affected them, whilst their youngest child was a musical prodigy. The main character in No Other Choice took extreme action, whilst Tokyo Sonata was a more grounded drama.

No Other Choice was a black satire. The opening scene was sickly sweet due to the Yoo family having a perfect family barbecue, which had expensive seafood, gifts, dancing, and hugs. It went downhill from there for the family. Man-su lost his job because he was trying to protect his workers. The film showed Man-su’s moral degeneration. As well, becoming a serial killer, his action takes a toll on his relationship with his wife (Son Ye-jin) and adopted son (Woo Seung Kim) as distrust and deceit escalate. A lot of the comedy came from Man-su being a hopeless hitman. He is out of his depth. I’ve known Lee for his action roles in Hollywood films, and seeing him in No Other Choice showed how versatile an actor he is. Lee went from good family man to hapless killer, showing he could be warm and funny, to calculating and menacing.

No Other Choice offers a lot of food for thought. There was a lot going on with its criticisms and commentary, and the number of storylines. It was gripping, dark, and humorous as it showcases our current economic plight.