No Other Choice
Rating: 5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
There is a masterful scene of cinema in Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice that perfectly sums up what the audience will be watching throughout the two-and-a-half-hour runtime. Our protagonist Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is attempting to murder a competitor in the paper industry as he has been struggling to find a job since being laid off. However, in an attempt to conceal the sound of the gunshot, he turns the music up before pointing the gun at his victim, which is concealed by an over mitt strapped to his arm. When he accidentally wakes up, they get into a fight concerning his victim not listening to his wife and how Man-su would make a better partner for her. What Man-su doesn't expect is for the wife in question to be waiting behind him, preparing to knock him out. A hilarious slapstick fight ensues which Man-su is not sure he will get out alive of. This fantastic blend of slapstick violence, brutally embarrassing moments, and this unlikely anti-hero is what makes Park's latest film so great, and is such a fun and engaging watch from beginning to end.
Throughout this film, Park gives us this breakdown of a character, showing how Man-su's story here stars in happier times, at a job he enjoys and a life he is more than happy with. He was able to buy back his family home and provide the life he wanted to for his wife (Son Ye-jin) and children. However, that all changes when he is laid off, and for the next few years, has trouble finding a job in the same industry, often being mocked and embarrassed by those above him. When he decides he has had enough, he results to killing off his competition, both in terms of revenge for how he felt lately and to make it easier for him to land another job.
Park does an amazing job of showing us this slow and decaying pride and dignity of this character. While he is the protagonist of this story, he is more viewed as an anti-hero in the acts he commits. Park shows how this character starts off by having to close his eyes when killing his first victims to committing these acts without a moment of hesitation. We really see how these factors can make a person lose themselves, and whether or not these acts he commits were really worth it in the end. To play this character, Byung-hun would have to really tap into this dark place, which I think he does so perfectly. Byung-hun is one of the best aspects of this entire picture, and he gives this performance his all. It is so nuanced and chaotic at the same time, and these two contrasting elements give his character such depth and interesting qualities about him.
At the same time, this film is wickedly funny and makes light of the situation going on. Park crafts this film as a dark comedy, which goes on to show how Park can find the darkly-comedic humor in such dark and depressing aspects of life. Because of this, this picture turns incredibly entertaining, not only in the fact that is is a fascinating character study but because of the laughs the film will get from the audience. There are moments here we probably shouldn't be laughing at, but it's incredibly hard not to. Park shows once again that he is a master filmmaker and can easily manipulate the viewer's thoughts and emotions in whichever way he sees fit.
At the same time, Park works with cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung to capture such brilliant shots on the screen. There is something so fresh and unique in the way Park its able to capture these moments on the screen, and his mise-en-scène is fantastic here. Park shows us everything he wants us to see, and it's beautiful watching all of these images and elements in the shadows and backgrounds of scenes. It allows the audience to see the entire screen as being important, opening them up to what's possible in the backgrounds and corners of the screen.
No Other Choice is another example of why Park is such a master at filmmaking in today's world of cinema, and it is such a darkly entertaining picture. I enjoyed everything Park was able to capture here, and it's always so refreshing to see someone craft a work of art that they care about and believe in. This movie works on numerous levels, and we are blessed to have a filmmaker of this caliber still working today.
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