Park Chan-Wook, the South Korean auteur behind acclaimed films like Oldboy and The Handmaiden, returns to cinema screens with his new film No Other Choice, a darkly funny exploration of corporate culture.
The film stars Lee Byung-Hun (Squid Game) as Yoo Man-Su, an award-winning employee of a paper company who struggles to find employment after being fired by his company’s new owners. After facing multiple rejections from other paper companies, Yoo enacts a plan to kill the more experienced job seekers he is competing with so that employers will have no other choice but to hire him.
While the film’s narrative could be compared to other recent South Korean anti-capitalist works like Parasite and Squid Game, what sets No Other Choice apart from the rest is Park’s approach to his material. Despite its satirical nature, it is a remarkably human film that not only critiques the system but also studies how its failures and injustices drive people to commit violent acts out of desperation. Park ties this systemic failure to ideas of patriarchy, having Yoo’s decision to murder his competition stem from the fear that his continued unemployment will make him unable to provide for his family. This motivation is what makes Yoo such an empathetic character despite his actions, allowing the audience to see him as a victim of the system and a caring human being instead of a violent sociopath.
Lee Byung-Hun is incredible as Yoo, giving a nuanced performance that balances his character’s internal conflict, while still remaining a likeable character for the viewer. Son Ye-jin is similarly wonderful as Yoo’s wife Mi-ri, making every second of her screen time memorable with a top-notch performance that complements both the film’s humanity and its satire. Formally, the film is nothing short of magnificent.
The editing is absolutely magical, featuring cuts and transitions that are perhaps amongst the most beautiful I’ve ever seen on screen. The cinematography—sporting a gorgeous colour palette of greens and blues—is similarly inspired, incorporating cell phones in a way that feels excitingly innovative. With No Other Choice, Park Chan-Wook crafts a delightful film that is sure to both entertain the viewer and leave them with something to chew on. He takes his film’s farcical premise and elevates it to create a story of great humanity that audiences will surely enjoy both now and in years to come.
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