Neon just dropped its trailer for Korean flick No Other Choice, in anticipation of a select theater releases this Christmas.
The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August, maintains levity while taking its stab at socioeconomics. Breadwinner, You Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun of Squid Games,) fights through his dismissal from a paper company and a series of humiliations to care for his family.
Desperate after marital issues, a ridiculous unemployment support group, and the realization that he may have to sell his childhood home, Man-su finds an all too creative solution: kill off his rivals in the merciless world of unemployment.
The film is an adaptation of the Donald Westlake novel, The Ax. In his Hollywood Reporter review, David Rooney explains that Chan-wook, best known for his 2003 action-thriller Old Boy, distinguishes himself from Costa-Gavras’ 2005 adaptation of The Ax, through distinctive camera work (odd angles and disorienting zooms) and an understanding of the future of workforce relations that was far less obvious in the pre-iPhone days of 2005.
The film’s premiere received generally positive reviews from critics. Despite agreement that it was not Chan-wook’s best film, most found more than a few aspects to praise. Some disputes may simply be a matter of taste: whereas Rooney laments Chan-wook’s reliance on slapstick humor, the Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw commended its ubiquity throughout the film.
No Other Choice is set for a limited release on September 25th and broad theatrical release in January.
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