THIS is what happens when the breadwinner of an upper middle-class family is laid off his well-paying job. Belts are tightened, the beautiful house is put on the market, club memberships are discontinued, and most tragically, Netflix subscription is cancelled.
This crisis is faced by a well-to-do family in the eccentric black comedy from South Korea, No Other Choice. Man-of the-house Yoo Man-su (played by Lee Byung Hun) loses his job in a paper mill following a takeover by an American conglomerate. He had worked there as operations manager for 20 years. Paper manufacturing has been his great passion. He’s intent on sticking to that industry, and he hopes to find employment with a similar company.
Meanwhile, he has to slum it in a retail company to pay the bills and the mortgage. His pretty wife, Lee Mi-ri (played by Son Ye Jin), finds work as part-time dental assistant.
The family is a well-blended one. Mi-ri has a teen-aged son from a previous relationship. They have a little girl who appears to be a savant. She doesn’t speak, but she’s taking advanced cello lessons. Yet she has never played the cello at home for her parents.
Man-su sends a job application to another paper company called Moon Paper. So desperate is he for the position, he decides to eliminate the competition. For him, the only way to accomplish this is to kill the more qualified applicants. Hence, Moon Paper would have “no other choice” but to hire him. He creates a fake paper company and a fake job opening and puts it online. Dozens of applicants are sent to him and he picks out three of the most qualified to be his murder victims.
The premise may seem like the story of a serial killer, but it’s a black comedy in the vein of Throw Momma from the Train. It’s based on the American novel The Axe by Donald Westlake. No Other Choice is actually the second film version. The first was produced 20 years ago and was directed by none other than Costa-Gavras. The acclaimed French-Greek director still owns the film rights to the book, but gave his full support to South Korean filmmaker Park Chan Woo. Park is famous for directing comedic murder mysteries.
The director gives a distinct European flair to No Other Choice. I like the way he injects humor and sarcasm in situations that place the protagonists at a crossroads. The film has many charming scenes involving the family. The best of them involves the dance scenes, as the couple is a member of a dance club.
The house in the movie looks lovely. In contrast to the modern architecture of the house in Parasite, the home in No Other Choice is a huge old cottage in the country. It seems to have a fascinating story of its own—a place that feels real and truly loved by its owners. Much of the film is set in a small town. The outdoors shots are breathtaking.
The movie, however, takes on a different character when Man-su starts tracking down his intended victims. Suddenly, he turns into a bumbling Mr. Bean as his fool-proof set-up for the perfect murder goes awry. The film becomes cluttered and wayward, with killer and victim mugging and yelling to the hilt. This is incongruent with the silky way the director presents life with Man-su’s family.
The sequence involving the second victim is more in tune with the film’s earlier tone. Man-su gets to know much about him by striking a conversation with him, a shoe store salesperson whose love for the paper manufacturing industry is just as intense. The banter is calm and compelling. It becomes a heartbreaking tragedy for the two men when the salesperson is eventually killed.
The entire cast does well in their roles. The two leads are convincing as husband and wife. As the homemaker-turned-dental assistant, actress Son Ye Jin steals the show from her leading man. Her character becomes the stronger foundation of the family as she accepts their misfortune with dignity—even as her neurotic husband accuses her of infidelity. The role is well thought out and written. Son Ye Jin takes the desperate housewife to a much higher level.
As the homemaker-turned-dental assistant, actress Son Ye Jin steals the show from her leading man
But is Man-su that desperate enough to risk being convicted of multiple murders? The role needs more explanation, as we’re not told if the man has a history of violence. Actor Lee Byung Hun (Mr. Sunshine, Squid Game) does his best to keep viewers interested in Man-su’s homicidal exploits. It’s no help when the man suddenly gets into a yelling frenzy brought about by his frustrating situation. Because of this inconsistent behavior, he fails to get us on his side.
The film’s schizophrenic tone is also a minus. Exquisite scenes with such subtle humor turn into messy, hold-on-to-your-seats slapstick comedy reminiscent of Blake Edwards’ Pink Panther movies. The plot holes are also jarring. In this day and age, it’s easy to research Man-su’s imaginary company and find out if it’s fake or real. We’re sure any applicant for a managerial position knows how to use Google.
The plot further turns foolish when Man-su takes home the corpse of his second victim and buries it in his own yard! The man was killed on a deserted mountain road overlooking the sea. Pushing the car off the cliff with the salesman in the driver’s seat would have been less exhausting and more convenient. It also makes this long movie a bit shorter.
Yet No Other Choice emerged as the darling of film critics in the recent Venice Film Festival. If only for its statement on the greed of billionaires who ruin the lives of ordinary people, the movie deserves the praise. But the remake of Sabrina (starring Harrison Ford) delivered the same message in less than two minutes, sans bloodshed.
No Other Choice does have its assets. The scenery is enticing, and it’s no wonder so many Filipinos love to visit South Korea. The movie is no Parasite, but I guess its title explains why it was selected as South Korea’s official Oscar contender.
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