Test taking may seem mundane, but ask anyone who has taken a test in their life and they'd probably relate to you a particularly harrowing test taking story. Taking a test, especially an important one, is a bundle of stress precariously balanced on a mountain of nerves. It's especially tough here in Asia, where academic culture is cutthroat, in the minds of some, even Darwinist - with most countries beholden to the Confucian focus on academic achievement. And yet, as Nattawut Poonpiriya's film Bad Genius tells us, it isn't a pure meritocracy - social hierarchies, power and privilege manage to corrupt the system down to its very core.
When Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying), a talented student, enters senior high school, it's on the back of years of achievements built through hard work. After surreptitiously helping her friend Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan) on a test, Grace's boyfriend, Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) offers her a chance to monetize her skills, constructing an elaborate scheme of cheating that seems an absurd ethical clusterfuck on the surface but feels exhilarating executed on screen. Lynn accepts the job at first out of a desire for monetary gain, but there's a certain feeling that she's also out to game the system to protest its crookedness - this is a system where "tutored" students gain exam questions just by paying a few thousand baht, or where unqualified brats get through school with a couple of generous donations. Lynn knows that life is stacked against her; this is her way of playing the game.
Poonpiriya frames Bad Genius as a heist film and it proves to be one of the film's greatest assets. The movie clocks at over two hours but is rarely boring - the film is filled with tense, nail biting moments from start to finish. It's one of the most riveting cinematic experiences I've had in a while. Aside from the overwhelming tension, the characters are relatively fleshed out, most of the tension stemming from the characters' interactions with each other.
At times I was reminded of the 2000 Jeff Davis starrer Cheaters. In that film a group of high school students also tried to game the system through their own means, set in an environment where the game is unfairly stacked against them as well. But this film is different in that it adds an extra layer of social commentary that proves biting.
Bad Genius reflects social divisions in Thai society that I see here as well - "palakasan" culture is more than prevalent in the Philippines and elsewhere. People like Pat and Grace may not be book smart, but they know how to use their privilege to manipulate people. People like Lynn and fellow A-student Bank may have all the book smarts, but they are both used time and again for the benefit of bourgeois aspirations.
A wild joyride from start to finish, Bad Genius is a thrilling movie that works on multiple levels and comes highly recommended.
1 comment:
Thank you. Will watch ASAP.
Post a Comment