‘Not Me’ Review – Of Politics, Activists & Students Gone Rogue

The 2021-22 Thai series ‘Not Me’ has an intriguing plot – College student White pretends to be his twin to investigate a fatal attack on his brother. Directed by Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana, the series has a rather ambitious plot, revolving around a bunch of college boys trying to take down one of the biggest/corrupt businessman in their country.

Actor Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat switches between twins White and Black with ease, while Off Jumpol Adulkittiporn plays hot-headed Sean who hates Black but has no option but to work in the same gang. While Black is in a coma, White joins his gang and realizes his brother was getting into a lot of dangerous activities and might have made multiple enemies who would’ve wanted him dead. So a steady suspense is maintained over who the real villain is, even though it’s foreshadowed well and doesn’t come as a surprise at the end.

The cinematography of this series is top-notch, a lot of the scenes are brilliantly shot, especially some of the early morning sequences, where the camera plays around with natural lights to create pleasing effects. Whoever picked all the background scores for the series has done a fantastic job, playing just the right kind of tones that blend beautifully with the mood of the moment.

However, it’s the writing that isn’t as strong as the rest of the show elements. The whole ‘idealistic students’ vs ‘corrupt system’ was overtly simplified and even silly in parts. It’s not like White and his gang don’t face hurdles, but their modus operandi is slightly juvenile and their successes come too easy. The character Gumpa who owns a garage and guides the boys into their missions against the businessman Tawi, is given no back-story at all. He is just one random dude who happens to know everything, but the viewers don’t know anything about his motivations. All that said, the makers do a decent attempt at exploring a topic that is rarely explored in college-romances like these.

Lead actors Off and Gun have established themselves as an onscreen couple, so their chemistry only gets better in this show. Gun who has the more challenging role of playing two polar-opposites twins is quite convincing in the clashing personalities. It’s really Gun who keeps this series together with his charming emotional deliveries. All the secondary actors do a good job too, however Fluke Gawin Caskey seemed a little too young to be playing a cop and struggles with the emotional nuances of his role. His good looks are probably the only thing that work here. Sing as White’s close friend Tod was also just about okay, they should’ve cast an actor with better screen-presence than him.

While the show is 12 episodes long, things get a little messy by the last two-three episodes and don’t fit in with the overall tone of the story. The makers get the romantic plots well, but aren’t able to get a good grip on the political/moral theme of the story. Again – everybody gets endings that are a little too convenient. Anyway… the last climactic scene between White & Sean on the shore however is gorgeously shot, accompanied by a romantic rhythmic flourish, giving the series an picture-perfect finish.

It’s a 7/10 from me.