No Other Choice

Story: Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) is an expert in paper production and quite successful. However, the paper company he works for is struggling with increasing competition, and so Man-soo is eventually laid off. His wife, Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), supports him emotionally, and he believes he'll find a new job within three months at the most. Unfortunately, the job market proves incredibly competitive, and he ultimately has to take on temporary jobs to make ends meet. This isn't enough to pay off the mortgage or cover other bills, though. On top of that, he also has two children to support, including a young daughter who is autistic and whose only fulfillment is her cello lessons, which the family therefore can't afford to cancel. So Mi-ri takes on a part-time job herself, and the family is forced to sell their house in the near future. Man-soo, however, is unwilling to give up his current life. He considers how he could gain an advantage over his competitors in the paper industry and poses as an employer seeking staff. He analyzes the applications he receives and realizes that he would only need to eliminate three of the applicants to almost certainly secure a job. But could Man-soo really become a murderer?

Review: I'm always curious to see which category Park Chan-wook's next film will fall into. As things are, you can't really trust the critics who praise his films at festivals anymore. For them, Park simply seems incapable of making a bad film. And while you always have to commend the director's technical skill, Park repeatedly gets lost in scenes that seem to reflect self-indulgence and crave the applause of those very festival critics. His last film, "Decision to Leave", seemed particularly intent on this, but despite everything, there were enough positive aspects that I got the impression the director would soon be able to rediscover his former strength. "No Other Choice" seems to confirm my hopes. Park Chan-wook's typical dark humor and the absurdity of certain situations, which nonetheless go hand in hand with a certain tragedy, work particularly well here. My biggest problem with the film is that the story is not an original idea from the director, but rather a remake.

"No Other Choice" is based on the 2005 French film "The Axe" (original title: "Le Couperet") by director Costa-Gavras, to which Park's remake is also dedicated. This film, in turn, is an adaptation of the novel "The Axe" by Donald E. Westlake. The French film already established the pitch-black humor, but it must be admitted that it is in very good hands with Park, as the director has always been the go-to person for absurdly dark humor, which in less capable hands might even have degenerated into ridiculous slapstick. A good example is when Man-soo stumbles down a mountain, fleeing a woman who has managed to take away his gun and is now shooting at him wildly. There are other successful scenes of this kind, some of which are more subtle. For instance, the protagonist rushes back to prevent his potential murder victim from discovering that his wife is cheating on him. That's quite considerate for someone on the verge of becoming a murderer. Of course, the question remains for a long time whether Man-soo is even capable of killing someone.

That being said, the film's focus is somewhat unfortunate, though. We're given a rather lengthy introduction depicting family happiness, complete with minutes of group hugs, before the main focus shifts to the potential victims. Compared to the original, Park has already reduced the number of possible victims to three, but while the first and third are explored in detail — giving us an outline of the men's backstories, their failed personal lives, and their depression — the second victim is dealt with so quickly that one gets the impression the director was forced to cut a lot of material to at least reach a runtime of 139 minutes. Another problem: Park Chan-wook may also be trying to convey a message with his film, as the final images before the credits demonstrate. But even though he always subtly uses his visuals to convey the message of his films, he stumbles here. It feels like an afterthought. He could have done so much more with it: It's still possible to defend oneself against the competition, even if, as here, it's by killing, detailed through the lense of pitch-black humor. But what can you do against AI?

There's no question that Park's visuals are once again superb. Every camera angle is meticulously chosen to give his story his personal touch. And so, even in the scenes where nothing much happens for a while, the film is simply enjoyable. As is often the case, the director lingers on a scene from time to time, making it almost seem as if the actors are improvising. As mentioned earlier, Park can't help but enjoy the filmmaking process. One dance scene, therefore, feels almost a bit too drawn out. But somehow, I get the impression that Park has already toned things down considerably, and a director's cut could include even more expansive scenes. So, praise is due for the fact that he's become somewhat moderate in that respect. This shouldn't be misunderstood, though. Some scenes do indeed require more time to do justice to their emotional impact. As is typical for the director, the emotions are often somewhat distorted and only visible beneath the surface. It should also be noted that while there are moments when the script seems to lose sight of where it wants to go, even seemingly unnecessary subplots ultimately have their place in the bigger picture.

The filmmaker, of course, takes no risks with the lead roles. With Lee Byung-hun ("The Match"), he's found someone who can play a down-to-earth family man, but one whose desperation could drive him to the extreme. Without giving too much away, this thriller/dark comedy also deals with morality. It would have been difficult to accept Man-soo as the anchor of the story if he didn't have at least a bit of a problem with murder, which — naturally — is exploited for some laughs. Son Ye-jin ("The Negotiation") also plays an important role in the film, but her character could have benefited from a bit more depth in its development. Some of the supporting roles are particularly enjoyable, but that's nothing new from Park. He also once again uses music fantastically to carry his story. Park Chan-wook has partially rediscovered his former strength, meaning that he not only delivers high-level visuals but can finally impress on an entertainment level as well, even if "No Other Choice" is a bit too long. All in all, that should be enough to give him a solid thumbs-up after a long time, despite some undeniable weaknesses.

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