Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

To my surprise, Gabe and I seem to be making a habit of seeing movies together over the weekend. Our venture to Grapevine for No Other Choice was our second movie in as many weekends, and I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. As the cinephile in the friend group, I feel it my duty to take my friends to good movies, so I’m happy to report that I made the right choice seeing No Other Choice.

Like Decision to Leave, the narrative of No Other Choice was just as dark, thrilling, and uncomfortably hilarious, qualities I’m now identifying as hallmarks of Chan-wook’s craft. The story was giving “Michael Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” (a comparison I cooked up myself in the theater and am unreasonably proud of) and was as twisty as it was satisfyingly predictable. The structure was familiar, but nearly every moment was executed with some level of nuance or creativity, be it shots, sequences, or effects I hadn’t seen before. This movie had the most stylish and hilarious kill scene that I’ve seen in a while, maybe ever.

I may have been more confused more often in this story than I was in Decision to Leave, but Park’s themes were crystal clear regardless. He so succinctly illustrated how human behavior can be impacted by uncertainty and insecurity, sometimes leading people (especially those in this movie) to spiral down one bonkers path forward when, in reality, there are definitely more choices. I also admired how Chan-wook didn’t allow his straightforward premise (again, reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim) to remain simple, instead filling every moment with complicated and engaging sub-narratives. There were plenty of other excellent aspects of this movie other than the story, too, from the slew of likable performances to the music—not just the score, but Ri-one’s entrancing cello playing, too!

I think Gabe put it best as we left the theater to brave the unexpected DFW cold: “Even when I got confused by the story, I was completely locked in”. I’ve noticed that Park Chan-wook’s movies have had that effect on me, too, and it’s a feeling in film that I want to keep finding. While I may prefer Decision to Leave (I think), No Other Choice was no slouch. It was sideways, hilarious, and intense, delivering on so much of the hype and making my personal decision for Best International Feature pretty difficult. I think The Testament of Ann Lee is up next on the Nate-Gabe movie calendar, so check back in next Saturday!