No Other Choice

I think Park Chan-wook is a genuine master of visual metaphor. I took two main themes from this: sunk-cost fallacy, and the idea of something good growing from something bad. Man-soo has devoted so much to the paper industry that his identity is almost synonymous with it. He can't bring himself to do anything different and goes to extreme lengths to avoid it. Later, this sunk-cost fallacy applies to his murders as well. Plants are a consistent theme throughout this film, with Man-soo being obsessed with plants. He is asked what his weakness is, and his wife - M-ri - jokes that he loves plants too much, which would be ironic in an industry based on dead plants. However, I believe this represents him making bad decisions to get what he wants. The inception of his murderous tendencies starts with a plant held high above his head. The first true murder is of a man who's life directly parallels his - what he could soon become. This man is constantly referenced by him having his pear tree - another bad decision to murder. The murder is essentially Man-soo rejecting that possibility for himself in my eyes. The next killing is of a man who actually did move on. He works in a shoe shop but actually has moved on - something Man-soo is very jealous of. He then is buried under another fruit tree - apples this time. I think the fruit in both occasions highlights how Man-soo's selfishness and desire is fed by other people's demise. When he reaches his ultimate goal he is left isolated - from his family but also from treading on others. The murder of the second man was rejecting the easy way out by doing something different. The third man is more interesting. There is no plant this time, but there is the constant reference to his wood fire. Wood is obviously dead trees, which is also what paper is. I think this might be to show that these good things stemming from bad actions literally 'go up in smoke' after a time. Him chasing dead trees (paper) whilst planting trees (based in evil) literally represents his creating his eventual demise for temporary joy; definitely some Biblical parallels with the apple of Eden here. This man has what Man-soo has wanted the whole film, but is alone. This is Man-soo's fate. The drinking scene prior to to the final murder also wraps up the sunk-cost fallacy idea. Man-soo has to drink a bomb shot despite having been tee-total, with his wife indicating a history of bad actions with alcohol. The shot sinking into the drink literally represents sunk costs, then the amazing shot from the bottom of the glass, the shot glass rattling down towards his mouth and appearing like a bullet or artillery shell barreling down the chamber of a gun. This is Man-soo literally shooting himself by doing the murder when he actually has no need at this stage, which he even admits later - he explicitly references his sunk-cost with something along the lines of "If I don't do it then the other two deaths were meaningless". Him drinking alcohol was him completely committing to becoming his true destructive self. Previously, Man-soo had drunk apple juice instead of whiskey. If we think about apple tree guy as the one who made the right choices and moved on, the drink of alcohol is rejecting that possibility fully. I loved this film man. I think I preferred Parasite for entertainment, but this is such a clever film. If anyone read long enough of my messy thought-stream, I would be interested to know how you think the cello-playing and phone stealing bits fit into my analysis. Excellent - 9/10