"Park Chan-wook's superpower is his ability to sell us on behavior that would not withstand any kind of scrutiny in other films. Park's characters do things we might deem irrational or implausible or downright nonsensical in most contexts, but he somehow convinces us, thumbing his nose at realism and leaning into craziness. He can pull this off because he's an unabashed expressionist, willing to bend cinematic time and space to put us into his people's heads."
"It's the story of a veteran paper mill manager who gets downsized after the company where he's worked for 25 year is bought by Americans. Having defined his whole life through his job, and desperate for money to support his family and pay for his new house, You Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun) is determined to find a new position in the field of high-end paper."
Park Chan-wook uses expressionist cinematic techniques to make implausible behavior feel psychologically persuasive, bending time and space to inhabit characters' minds. No Other Choice premiered at the Venice Film Festival to near-universal acclaim. The plot follows You Man-soo, a veteran paper mill manager downsized after an American acquisition, who, desperate to support his family and preserve status after winning Pulp Man of the Year, seeks new work in high-end paper and ultimately decides to eliminate competing candidates despite lacking stomach or skill for murder. The film adapts Donald Westlake's The Ax and contrasts with Costa Gavras's earlier noirish approach.
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