Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Jane and Ann are childhood best-friends, neighbors, and daughters of police officer’s, living in a government residential complex for cops, thus the movie title ‘Flat Girls’. But Ann’s father is no more, so her family, comprising of a gambling addict mom and three other younger siblings, face the threat of eviction. The girls dream of spending their lives together, but the difference between their financial conditions threaten to break their bond.
Directed by Claire Jirassaya Wongsutin, ‘Flat Girls’ stars Earnearn Fatima Dechawaleekul as Ann, the overburdened eldest daughter with ambitions to become an air-hostess, while Fairy Kirana Pipityakorn plays the chubby-cute Jane, with fairly no real problems in life, except for an overtly critical mother who never misses a chance to body-shame her own daughter. Boy Pakorn Chatborirak plays Tong, a young police officer living in the same quarters, Jane & Ann’s new friend, badminton partner, and eventually a source of a jealous rift between the girls.
The first half of ‘Flat Girls‘ is filled with relatable realism about the complexities of teen love and everyday struggles. The police quarters where the girls live is old and proudly wears its tired, middle-class exterior, quite unlike the swanky apartment complexes seen in most Thai teen romances. Ironically, while Jane is content to spend the rest of her life in the same flat as long as she has Ann by her side, Ann cannot wait to escape the claustrophobic life in the flats. The dull residential buildings, bustling with families, with stale graffiti on the walls and paint chipping away everywhere, becomes an oppressive character in itself, courtesy the simple, straightforward cinematography.
Both girls love each other, but Jane begins to wonder if her possessiveness over the beautiful Ann is simply sisterly affection found in childhood friendships or something more. She is more confused when she starts to have a small crush on older cop Tong, who starts to play badminton with the girls. Tong however, seems to gravitate towards Ann more. The heart of the story lies in the emotional ups and downs the girls experience in their friendship and budding romance.
Earnearn Fatima Dechawaleekul is relatable as the fragile, hard-working, Ann, portraying the character with a tender earnestness that makes her the stand-out star of ‘Flat Girls’. Ann is forced to play mother to her siblings, while their mother spends most of her time gambling or creating trouble for them. Ann’s friendship with Jane is her primary source of comfort and escape, but with Ann’s mother constantly borrowing money from Jane’s mom, she begins to feel the friendship becoming unequal, while Jane remains blissfully (and annoyingly) unaware of her feelings.
At first, Boy Pakorn Chatborirak’s portrayal of Tong is endearing. However, the character’s evolution becomes questionable in the second half of Flat Girls. Tong, who is clearly in his early 30s or older, while the girls are barely 18, is introduced as a friendly guiding figure for the teens. But eventually, his character becomes an unwanted adult intruder in their lives – a confusing presence whose intentions aren’t clearly spelled out and are left to the viewer’s interpretation. Tong ultimately comes to symbolize how adulthood disrupts the carefree innocence of teenage life.
The climax of ‘Flat Girls‘ adds a small twist, revealing that Jane’s life isn’t as smooth or carefree as Ann had assumed. However, the last-minute complications in Jane’s family feel unnecessary: an overly forced attempt to drive home the “everyone has their own struggles” message. While its slowburn pace is leisurely delicious in the first half, the story’s scattered focus makes it lose its emotional edge.
However, the film finally with an open-ended climactic twist, again, leaving the events opens to interpretation, which depending on one’s view could seem like a happy ending or perhaps slightly tragic. Regardless, it marks the end of adulthood for the ‘Flat Girls’, as they leap towards new uncertainties in their life.
Rating: 7 on 10. ‘Flat Girls’ is on Netflix.
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