How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
A debut feature from Thailand proves to be a satisfying if occasionally misjudged drama of family and manipulation.
Image courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.
This is a film from Thailand where it had the title Lahn Mah which apparently translates as “Grandma's Grandchild”. On home ground the movie, a first feature by Pat Boonnitipat who also shares the writing credit here, was an immense success and there is reason to believe that it could have strong appeal wherever it is shown. That being so, I rather regret its English language title because it might well encourage potential viewers to expect some kind of black comedy. The central situation depicted in the film could indeed have been developed to take on that character but as handled here any humorous touches in the film are very much incidental. What we have is a family tale in which the oldest member, a 78-year-old widow named Mengju (Usha Seamkhum), is a centre of interest to her children and to her eldest grandchild M (Putthipong Assaratanakul) but largely on account of their hope of inheriting her money.
Sometimes the image of family members on the make can take on an amusing aspect – as when Mengju's younger son, Soei (Pongsatorn Jongwilas), however keen to inherit eventually is also seen as ever ready to cadge a loan or any other financial assistance going. But this film plays essentially as drama rather than as comedy. Even so, Boonnitipat sets a tone that avoids being too heavy. That is his choice despite the film opening on a scene that takes place in a cemetery and regardless of a key fact revealed early on. Mengju has a fall that results in her being checked out at a hospital and her family are then told that she has stage four cancer and in all probability no more than a year to live. At first this is not revealed to Mengju herself, but when she does learn about her condition, she is stoic. The film does not skirt around her situation – Mengju undergoes chemotherapy treatment and loses her hair – but life goes on even so and both the music by Jaithep Raroengjai and the colourful look of the film as photographed by Boonyanuch Kraithong contribute to what given Mengju's circumstances is a relatively light touch. As a work that focuses on family life this is a piece that sometimes recalls the work of the great Japanese filmmaker Ozu (it even includes footage of trains which often made an appearance in his films). Nevertheless, Boonnitipat is here consciously delivering something designed for a mainstream audience and in that respect some viewers will doubtless be reminded of more recent movies such as Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, the 2019 hit starring Awkwafina.
For three quarters of its length this film is very sure-footed and works well on its chosen terms. The idea of playing up to a grandparent in the hope of benefiting on their death is neatly set up in the film’s prologue. Here we find M's cousin Mui (Tontawan Tantivejakul) acting in this way and succeeding in being named as her grandfather's beneficiary. It is her example that inspires M, a college dropout, to make himself indispensable to Mengju knowing that she is living on her own and receiving only rare visits from her three children, Kiang (Sanya Kunakorn), his sister Sew (Sarinrat Thomas) who is M's mother and the aforesaid Soei. Initially the only sympathetic character is Mengju herself who comes across as nobody’s fool. It's a role that finds ideal casting in Usha Seamkhum whose previous acting career seems to have been limited to appearing in commercials (that she should suddenly in old age do well in a major acting role carries an echo of Katie Johnson’s sudden triumph in that classic British film The Ladykillers). But, if M initially sets out to take advantage and is motivated solely by self-interest, it is a central feature of this story that he should gradually become genuinely fond of Mengju and that in time this should alter his character making him somebody less self-centred and more open to recognising and responding to the needs of those around him. Again, the casting may have been seen as something of a gamble because, although he had become popular for roles on TV, Putthipong Assaratanakul is well known in Thailand as a pop singer. In the event he fits into the role of M very well and the viewer is eager to see M developing in the way that he does. Things become shaky when, unknown to him, Mengju discovers what had motivated him in the first place but the audience being aware of his change of heart is hoping that he will win through.
Given the adept casting, the film’s potential is obvious and the novel location in which it is set, Bangkok's Chinatown, adds to its appeal. It's a shame, therefore, that instead of rounding out the arc inherent in M's development in a neat way it was decided that extra plot embellishments should be added in the film's last quarter to give it a running length of over two hours. It is the screenplay that is at fault here including the fact that it brings back M's cousin Mui who improbably makes a confession and this at a time when the film should have become a more concentrated piece fully focused on Mengju and M and their relationship (having recognised the genuine bond between her and M the sensible Mengju would surely challenge him regarding his initial motivation in the hope of discovering that he had indeed changed). Instead, the film gets somewhat bogged down in incidental plot developments and this reduces the emotional impact one is expecting. It does find an apt way to bring things to a close but even that involves including a self-consciously inserted flashback that happens very suddenly. All this weighs on one the more because it brings disappointment to what until then had seemed to be shaping up as a thoroughly engaging popular work. Nevertheless, even those viewers who share my feelings about the film’s later stages will find much here that is very satisfying.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Putthipong Assaratanakul, Usha Seamkhum, Sanya Kunakorn, Sarinrat Thomas, Pongsatorn Jongwilas, Tontawan Tantivejakul, Duangporn Opirat, Himawari Tajiri, Wattana Suteeratham, Phichai Prommate.
Dir Pat Boonnitipat, Pro Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak, Screenplay Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn and Pat Boonnitpat, Ph Boonyanuch Kraithong, Pro Des Patchara Lertkai, Ed Thammarat Sumethsupachok, Music Jaithep Raroengjai, Costumes Chayanuch Savekvattana.
GDH559/Jor Kwang Films-Vertigo Releasing.
125 mins. Thailand. 2024. US Rel: 13 September 2024. UK Rel: 26 December 2024. Cert. 12A.
