Richard Tobin reviews Park Chan-wook’s striking depiction of a working-class family undone by capitalism, left with little money and even fewer options.
Park Chan-wook’s latest cinematic adventure No Other Choice, is a satirical thriller made firmly for the times we live in. The renowned director turns his eye to contemporary South Korean society, crafting a story that resonates and applies to the whole world. The film’s protagonist Yoo Man-soo, played by Byung-Hun Lee (star of the Netflix hit Squid Game) starts the movie by informing the audience of how he has it all. He has worked his way up the ladder at his factory job to become a line manager. On top of this, he has a loving wife (Son Ye-jin), good kids (Kim Woo-seung, Choi So-yuk) and a decent house. He’s capable of giving his kids the best in life. He’s proud of what he’s achieved and how he takes care of the people he loves.
Yoo Man-soo’s dream life is snatched from under his feet when an abrupt US led takeover of his employer leads to downsizing for him and his whole team. Out of a job, he struggles to see a silver lining but his wife stands by him, promising that everything will be alright. With a time jump of thirteen months, we realise that this is simply not the case. The family tried to keep living the way they always did but they’re forced to adapt. Yoo Man-soo’s new retail position is simply not paying the bills. As life as they knew it drifts further and further out of his family's control, Yoo Man-soo is desperate and forced to resort to drastic decisions to try to provide for his family.
The film is all about what capitalism takes away from us in both a physical and spiritual sense. Everything Yoo Man-soo worked so hard to attain is gone in an instant. The film shows the ripple effects of his dismissal on the family, and how quickly the small things that once brought happiness can disappear when money becomes tight. It is particularly heartbreaking seeing them say goodbye to their family dogs; two mouths they simply can’t afford to feed. Capitalism quite literally breaks up their family.
As a result, the family’s good spirit is almost non-existent. Throughout the course of the film, we see just how far Yoo Man-soo is willing to go to earn his livelihood back, his sudden unemployment leaving him with no other choice on how to act. As Yoo Man-soo’s morality decays, so too does his good habits and passion for life. After battling addiction with substances in his past, he starts drinking and smoking again as a way to deal with being fired. His teenage son turns to stealing, while his wife can only watch on as a bystander in displeasure.
As Yoo Man-soo’s morality decays, so too does his good habits and passion for life. After battling addiction with substances in his past, he starts drinking and smoking again as a way to deal with being fired.
Up until the ending, I found the film’s message to be nothing revolutionary. It holds a mirror to life in an effective but non-groundbreaking way, showing the effects of capitalism and how it affects the common person. At the end however, the film comes full circle and invites the viewer to consider how we have all become complicit in the system that ultimately corrodes us. As long as our heads are just kept above water, we’ll turn a blind eye (even if we don’t want to acknowledge it). The characters demonstrate just how easy it is to slip into evil and succumb to fear.
The film includes a lot of dark comedy throughout. Although I was in a packed out screening that couldn’t stop laughing, I found this humour to be tonally jarring. While not rejecting the use of dark comedy, I just found in this instance that the film lacked the time to breath and fully submerge itself in the bleakness of the family’s situation. Though it resisted the urge to employ Marvel-style bathos, I still found it frustrating how the film mixed tones in the most dramatic moments. It reduces the comedy and fits into its groove by the end, but at that point I found the film to be feeling its length.
Though it resisted the urge to employ Marvel-style bathos, I still found it frustrating how the film mixed tones in the most dramatic moments.
Visually the film looks great - Chan-wook’s style is really distinct. I especially liked how the film played with focal length and the depth of the image. Objects and people come in and out of focus and seeing some of the more shocking scenes out of focus, really heightened the impact. One visual complaint I have is the overuse of sweeping style crane shots. It seemed as though they hired the equipment for the shoot and would be damned if they didn’t make full use of it. Ultimately, these shots don’t really reveal anything new about the scale of the location, the world, or the characters’ and their relationships. The first time it looks cool, but by the fourth time it feels repetitive.
The sound was phenomenal and overall, my favourite aspect of the film. The film manages to capture a lot of the mundanity of life, which really contrasts with some of the shocking behaviour as the film progresses. Examples like blinkers clicking in the background were particularly effective in the moments of extremity. Moreover, the sound of the ocean crashing against the coast felt like an overwhelming force of life crashing on top of the characters. The soundtrack deserves praise too, and the use of "Hold On, I’m Coming” is a crowd pleasing hit that contrasts with the seriousness of the moment and the severity of change that the characters are experiencing. “Dragonfly” in another scene masterfully elevates the tension, especially when it hits a deafening volume.
The sound was phenomenal and overall, my favourite aspect of the film. The film manages to capture a lot of the mundanity of life, which really contrasts with some of the shocking behaviour as the film progresses.
No Other Choice is a powerful film but not strong enough to be considered a crowd pleaser. In my opinion, personal taste will definitely play a part in how people interpret the movie. For some, No Other Choice comes across as a tonally uneven journey, while for others it is a masterpiece in satire and suspense.