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James Mottram

3.5/5 stars
Not since the US version of the sitcom The Office, with its mock-doc focus on the fictional company Dunder Mifflin, has there been such a high-profile worshipping of the art of manufacturing paper.
Maybe Korean director Park Chan-wook has been bingeing on episodes, though that show never got as dark as this pleasing adaptation of Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax.
A black comedy set in the world of (un)employment, No Other Choice starts as family man Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is let go from his role at a speciality paper company.


After 25 years’ service, he was given just 25 minutes to clear out his desk, he later laments. With two children, two dogs and a wife (Son Ye-jin) to support, he immediately starts seeking new employment.
Thirteen months on, he is working in a warehouse, humping boxes, while he focuses on finding a role at Moon Paper, the one Korean company that has cracked the Japanese market.
With a vacancy arising, he hits upon the idea of eliminating the competition – quite literally. Among them are a drunkard and a shoe salesman, who like him were long-term employees in the paper industry.
“I’m fighting a war for my family,” he says, although he is no killer, making this task all the more complex.
As shown by his last film, 2022’s Decision to Leave, Park has always been a consummate artist in the thriller terrain. He is less so in comedy, with films like 2006’s I’m a Cyborg, But That’s OK coming across as rather too broad.

No Other Choice has farcical elements, especially the deadly, gun-heavy scrap between Man-su, one of his targets, and the man’s philandering wife. But fortunately, that is kept to a minimum.
Park updates the story to make it feel contemporary, with nods to AI and full automation, and a workforce chewed up and spat out by unfeeling corporations.
The script shows how we too often value our self-worth – and that of others – through our vocation, with Man-su confronted by one smug chap who berates him for being unemployed. It also unveils just how desperate we can become when it comes to climbing the corporate ladder.
In many ways, No Other Choice is a portrait of the way that even the middle classes are being forced to tighten their belts in times of economic strife. Sell the house, give up the dogs, even – gulp – lose that Netflix subscription; the comfortable life so many once led is now becoming a thing of the past.

While 139 minutes is too long for what is ostensibly a comedy, Park has made a crafty one that will resonate with anyone doing the nine-to-five grind.
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Lee Byung-hun stars in this Korean black comedy as a family man who is laid off after 25 years and goes on a desperate quest for a job


Lee Byung-hun stars in this Korean black comedy as a family man who is laid off after 25 years and goes on a desperate quest for a job.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lee Byung-hun stars in this Korean black comedy as a family man who is laid off after 25 years and goes on a desperate quest for a job

Lee Byung-hun stars in this Korean black comedy as a family man who is laid off after 25 years and goes on a desperate quest for a job