By Jonathan Bilski
Way to go Palm Springs International Film Festival, you got another great film that got in and happened to be out in theaters at the same time.
The hype for this one was palpable, a new Korean film to enthrall the masses just like Parasite. And, timely too as No Other Choice's main protagonist is a down on his luck, recently fired paper-mill manager who just can't find work. People be looking for work right now. And, if you're one of them or know someone who is, this movie connects. Actor Lee Byung-hun is wonderful in his performance as both an expert planner and an idiot trying to get away with murder in hopes of getting a new job. He plays Yoo Man-su with a well-off family. As his rich life-style that his family has grown accustom to starts falling apart and he must take on jobs below his former pay-grade he hatches a clever scheme to take out the competition...permanently.
What follows is a thriller comedy about someone so clever at first on paper, but when in real life finds murder to be a tad bit harder with both grim and comedic results. Lee Byung-hun perfectly plays it as someone at the end of their rope who wants respect that comes with a high paying job. He switches to a nincompoop on the fly to a very cold-hearted man doing anything to keep his childhood home and he believes his family. A family, that motivates him even more to do what he does, but I don't think would ever condone what he's trying to do.
This might be the most beautifully shot film of the year. Every scene is perfectly set up and just to the point that I would buy a postcard book of the cinematography. South Korea's landscapes and the family home are just a wonder to gaze at. Hats off to cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung.
A class of it's own, the film is similar in tone of Parasite on what class and status mean in North Korea. We might be seeing a man losing it over finding a job similar to his last one, but were also getting a look at society. And, it's not great. What working means to some people, in this film, it's many people's identity. Real world fears of the job market and A.I. are part of it as well, tackling it all.
Some of the plan or editing is hard to follow. None of the big ideas I just wrote about are missed or anything like that. I mean some parts of Yoo Man-su's murder plan to axe out the competition and what's going on get muddled around a few parts. A colleague I was watching with had a problem with it too. We had to got to Wikipedia as we missed some of what was going on.
That's what hurts the film, it's so close to being perfect. It's too late to go back, but just a little bit of editing or an added scene would make it easier to follow. Still, highly recommend, you don't have a choice.
