Film Review – No Other Option (2025)

      No Other Choice, 2025.

      Directed by Park Chan-wook.

      Featuring Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, Kim Woo-seung, Choi So-yul, Kim Hyeong-mook, Woo Jeong-won, Yoo Yeon-seok, Yoon Ga-i, Oh Dal-su, Lee Suk-hyeong, Oh Kwang-rok, Lee Yong-nyeo, Kim Hae-sook, Im Tae-poong, Nam Jin-bok, and Ahn Hyun-ho.

      SYNOPSIS:

      After years of being unemployed, a man concocts a peculiar strategy to land a new job: eliminate his rivals.

      Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) seemingly has it all: a perfect family life and a home with his wife Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), two young children, and two dogs, all supported by a stable job in a specialty paper manufacturing company. However, one of these aspects unravels, affecting everything else in Man-soo’s life as it collapses like a house of cards in No Other Choice, a collaboration with screenwriters Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee, and Don McKellar, inspired by Donald E. Westlake's novel The Ax.

      Or so Man-soo believes he has no other option but to turn to violence to regain employment. Following a dramatic fallout, compounded by the anxieties and behaviors of his laid-off competitors, he begins to interfere with them to eliminate the competition. This sadistically thrilling and wickedly entertaining tale captures the antics of a desperate man resorting to extreme measures to eliminate anyone with similar job qualifications (of which there are few in specialty paper manufacturing). It also serves as a darkly humorous commentary on the extremes individuals will go to in order to evade confronting their fears and feelings of inadequacy stemming from unemployment and a sense of lost masculinity.

      At one point, a wife tells her husband that their issue isn't the inability to find work, but how they are managing their joblessness. This encapsulates No Other Choice, pushed to an absurd, intricately written, and thematically complex extreme: Man-soo's moral compass gradually deteriorates while he occasionally adopts a hypocritical facade to protect his family and eldest son from a path of minor crimes. While it may appear as a convoluted plot to disguise a series of murders from oblivious local authorities, it also offers an intricate examination of the mindset of a disheartened provider who loses their safety net, especially in today's climate of dwindling job opportunities. Though there are some pacing issues, with certain scenes involving victims dragging longer than others, the film's narrative always ties back into Man-soo's psychological state and actions.

      Visually, No Other Choice is stunning (thanks to cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung), often employing dissolves and transitions that reflect and contrast the characters' behaviors, alongside innovative visual techniques such as cameras placed in unconventional locations. Cho Young-wuk’s score is equally entrancing, yet one of the most gripping sequences unfolds during a three-way standoff, where a single gun and loud music cause the subtitles to change in style to match the intensity. This scene exemplifies dynamic cinematography and action (albeit less violent) that leaves viewers feeling as if they are floating while experiencing a Park Chan-wook thriller.

      Naturally, No Other Choice resonates with the present times, concluding with a bleak and realistically disheartening ending. Man-soo is a sympathetic character given current societal issues (brilliantly portrayed by Lee Byung-hun, who captures the nuanced interplay of controlled fury, resentment, jealousy, paranoia, and dark humor), yet he also represents a deeper cynicism. The film is laden with complexities that are sure to inspire extensive analytical discussions, particularly regarding a harsh truth that gradually infects Man-soo as his unstable machinations unfold. For Park Chan-wook, it seems that the only option is to create exceptional films, refusing to settle for anything less.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

      Robert Kojder