Park Chan Wook returns to cinema with No Other Choice, a black comedy thriller adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax. The film stars Lee Byung Hun and Son Ye Jin as a married couple navigating a moral and emotional crisis. On July 22, the production house CJ ENM released the first poster and teaser, giving audiences a glimpse of the intense and unsettling world they are about to enter. Lee Byung Hun plays Man Soo, a man who loses his job at a paper company and finds himself cornered by the brutal realities of unemployment. His desperation drives him down a dark and dangerous path where he begins eliminating other job candidates to reclaim a stable position.
The trailer begins with Man Soo reflecting on the cultural language surrounding job loss. He says, “In the United States, they say getting fired is like ‘wielding the axe.’ Do you know what they say in Korea? ‘You’re getting your neck cut.’” The metaphor not only sets the tone of the film but reveals the depth of Man Soo’s helplessness and frustration. He’s not just looking for employment—he’s fighting to restore a crumbling sense of identity and worth. As the trailer progresses, it becomes clear that Man Soo’s actions, however horrifying, stem from a place of fear and pressure that many can relate to, though few would admit.
Son Ye Jin plays Mi Ri, Man Soo’s wife, whose role appears to be central to the emotional arc of the story. While the poster only shows her alongside the family, reports suggest that her influence on Man Soo is significant. She is not merely a background figure; she reflects the emotional weight of his choices, standing both as someone he wants to protect and someone who reminds him of what he risks losing. The first poster features all key characters connected by the limbs of a symbolic tree, visually implying how their lives intersect in unseen but critical ways. Among them are Seon Chul (Park Hee Soon), Beom Mo (Lee Sung Min), A Ra (Yeom Hye Ran), and Si Jo (Cha Seung Won), all of whom are likely to play pivotal roles in the storyline as friends, rivals, or unknowing participants in Man Soo’s descent.
Filming for the movie was completed in January 2025, with the production team spending the following months in post-production. The film is scheduled to be released in theatres in September 2025. Given its source material and the director’s reputation, No Other Choice is expected to be a disturbing yet thought-provoking look at the lengths to which someone will go when pushed to the edge. Combining black humor with a suspenseful narrative, the film seems poised to challenge viewers’ moral instincts while delivering a gripping cinematic experience.
