Lee Byung-hun in “No Other Choice.” Credit: Neon via TNS
Some movies entertain, but others stay with you long after they end.
“No Other Choice” is one of those movies. It makes you ask — how far would one go to protect their family, to survive, to keep people they love safe? This movie is darkly comedic, tense and full of moments that make your heart race. Every choice, every glance, every quiet moment matters — one wrong move could change everything.
The film premiered internationally at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival Aug. 29, 2025, then showed at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival Sept. 5, 2025. It was released in Korea Sept. 24, 2025. U.S. audiences saw a one-night screening held on Dec. 8, and finally, it made its way to Ohio theaters Jan. 15. The unforgettable characters, theme and beautiful camera placements made it worth the wait.
Directed by Park Chan-wook, a prominent and exciting South Korean director known for “The Handmaiden,” the film is persistent and planned carefully. Chan-wook knows exactly where to put a camera — every angle is there for a reason.
Sometimes the focus is on something in the background, something that makes you wonder what is happening, and then the film completely surprises you. Other times, the camera lingers on a character’s face and suspense arises, showing the cutthroat nature of work culture and desperation in every frame.
This isn’t just filming – it’s storytelling through camera work. It makes you feel like you are inside the characters’ minds, trapped in their world and desperation.
The main protagonist Yoo Man-soo, played by actor Lee Byung-hun, is a laid-off man who resorts to violent actions for a new job. Man-soo is unforgettable. He is strategic, obsessive and chaotic, all at the same time.
He plans everything carefully, but when things don’t go as planned, he can become unpredictable. One moment he seems in control, the next he does something shocking and then keeps going as if nothing happened.
Even after morally terrifying actions though, he still feels the weight of what he has done. He is not heartless, just desperate to protect his family.
Though, Man-soo technically had many other choices – like refreshing LinkedIn and applying for a new job — that’s not what the story is about. The point isn’t “He could’ve done something else.” Chan-wook wants to show a reality where some people either don’t have a choice or are forced into impossible ones — where survival pushes them to do things that aren’t morally right. He shows us the harsh world this character lives in, a world that makes him feel like his value is tied to whether he’s employed.
And yet, Chan-wook sneaks in these random waves of comedy. Just when a scene is uncomfortable, even unbearable to watch, he throws in something that makes you think, “Wait, am I supposed to laugh right now?”
It makes the viewer feel conflicted and remorseless – almost like how Man-soo felt. Chan-wook puts a bandage over the raw emotions — not hiding it, but layering it with humor to make you feel the emotions all at once.
“No Other Choice” is different from most American thrillers. It does not feed you the information or try to make the audience feel comfortable — it does the opposite of that. The film trusts the viewers to feel the tension, understand the choices and think about the morality of every action. This film is meant to be felt, not just watched.
The film portrays how cruel and unstable work culture can be. One day, a person has a job and a sense of security, and the next day it’s all gone. Being hired feels temporary and being fired feels sudden and long. This film makes it clear how easily people are replaced and how little compassion exists once someone is no longer deemed “useful.”
“No Other Choice” captures the fear of being disposable in a system that doesn’t care about loyalty or effort and how that fear can push someone toward choices they never would have made otherwise. Chan-wook leaves the audience no other choice but to love the film.
Rating: 5/5
