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 (012526)
Lately, there have been many films, TV shows and a few songs that explore the
injustices of the capitalist class system. This includes the 'eat the rich' subgenre, where lower-class
characters switch places with the wealthy and exact revenge. Some cinematic examples
include:
The Menu,
Triangle of Sadness,
Saltburn,
Snowpiercer,
Sorry to Bother You,
Glass Onion, and the Emmy-winning White
Lotus.
However, the best example is
Parasite, a now-classic in
which a servant murders his employer. It's apparent that
Parasite greatly influenced No Other
Choice, as both use shocking twists to critique class divisions. In an Indiewire
interview, the director Park Chan-wook said
Parasite is
all about class conflict, with a strong undercurrent of
corporate cannibalism, which is pretty clear in the film.
At the 2026 Golden Globes, No Other Choice was nominated for Best Motion Picture
Musical or Comedy and Best Actor. Only the first half qualifies as comedy,
albeit a dark one. It was also South Korea's entry for Best International
Feature at the Oscars and made the short list. The film takes the "eat-the-rich"
formula and tweaks it with the protagonist committing violence against his competitors out of economic
desperation, but nothing directly aimed against his employer. Each time, he justifies his
actions with the phrase 'no other choice,' echoing his employer's excuse to him for
his eventual layoff.
No Other Choice stars the talented Lee Byung-hun, acclaimed for I Saw the Devil,
Squid Game, and A Bittersweet Life. Here, he plays a multi-dimensional
character: an inept criminal and a relatable figure of economic despair. As
companies adopt robotics and automation, situations like his may become more
common. Lee plays an economically well-off manager, Man-soo, who has worked for decades at a paper factory. He has a perfect
family that lives in the lap of luxury. He has a lovely, younger wife, and he
has so much disposable cash that he can afford to pay for all of his daughter’s
whims, such as expensive cello lessons.
After his company is acquired by an American firm, Man-soo loses his job due to
budget cuts. Over the next year, he endures humiliation: his wife works as a
dentist’s assistant and sleeps with her boss; he must give his dogs Ri-one and
Si-two to his parents; his wife quits tennis; he puts his house up for sale; and
(gasp) cancels Netflix. His upper-middle-class life vanishes overnight.
The acclaimed director and former critic Park Chan-wook, a leading figure in
South Korean cinema alongside Boon Joon Ho (Parasite, Snowpiercer), Lee
Chang-dong (Burning), and Im Kwon-taek (Painted Fire), directed the film.
Chan-wook is best known for the Mr. Vengeance trilogy: Sympathy for Mr.
Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003), and Lady Vengeance (2005). His most acclaimed
film is likely Decision to Leave (2022), which won Best Director at Cannes.
The film makes fun of overspecialization in modern society, and he has a bit of
a paper fetish. He derives all his self-worth from his job, and he is not the
only one. Whenever one of the downsized employees’ wives suggests that her
husband get a job in a different field, he always responds as if he’s been
brainwashed, “ Paper has fed me for 25 years. It’s how it’s meant to be. I have
no choice.”
He finds out about a job opening up at another paper company (he only wants a
paper-related job), and he figures out a way to improve his chances of getting
hired. He decides to eliminate all his competitors vying for the job by setting
up a fake company to attract them so he can murder them. Like American Psycho.
This film implies that his murders are just a natural consequence of social
Darwinism and the mindset that comes from cutthroat capitalism .
Most of his murder attempts go terribly awry in funny ways, and in the first
half of the film, it establishes a dark comedy tone similar to Hitchcock’s The
Trouble with Harry. In one of the goofiest scenes, he uses a snake to poison his
competitor, but the snake accidentally bites him. Then his intended victim’s
wife, who is unaware of the whole situation, must suck the poison out of his leg
to prevent the poison from spreading . Before she does this, the woman tells him
in a matter-of-fact tone that he knows what she is doing because she once
played a medic on TV.
I would probably have given the film three and a half or four stars if it had
stayed as strong as in the first half. But No Other Choice cannot sustain its
zany comic energy. Unlike the similarly fast-paced Marty Supreme, which
maintains momentum throughout, this film loses some of its drive and begins to
repeat itself. Also, writing or thinking about the film is probably more fun
than actually watching it. Despite this, the ironic ending is simply perfect,
strongly recalling the surprise conclusions found in films like
Parasite, and it
is well worth the wait and effort.
While I disagree with many other critics who say this is one of the best films
of 2025, it is beautifully shot, thought-provoking, and engaging. Still, I left
the film disappointed because it is a very good film that could have been even
better. Despite some classic moments that flirt with greatness, it never quite
matches the sublime brilliance or emotional impact of the somewhat similar
Parasite, and it suffers in comparison.
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