by Finnlay Dall
Worth: $15.60
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Fatima Dechawaleekul, Kirana Pipityakorn, Pakorn Chatborirak, Wachirakon Raksasuwan
Intro:
We know what growing up looks like, but you haven’t quite seen it like this before on the screen.
For many coming-of-age stories, getting older is marred by difficulty. However, for teens Ann and Jane (Fatima Dechawaleeku, Kirana Pipityakorn), their lives within the flats – provided to families of the local police force – couldn’t be any more carefree. Having been besties since infancy, the pair do everything together – play badminton, work food stalls at the night markets, and even sneak into an empty adult’s apartment for a bit of underage drinking and smoking with their friend Nice (Wachirakon Raksasuwan). As Ann and Jane wonder about their feelings for one another, the audience settles in for a wonderfully comfy and unapologetically queer slice of life romance…
…Or at least, that’s what director Jirassaya Wongsutin leads us to believe, because what makes Flat Girls special is that these girls are not plagued by the difficulty of growing up, although their respective mothers aren’t exactly the easiest to get along with, rather, they have to contend with the confusion of growing up. The confusion of unrequited love, the confusion around Ann’s standing as the daughter of a tenant against that of Jane’s as the landlord’s daughter, and their confusion about where each of them wants to be in life.
Their chance encounter with one of their neighbours, the young and kind Officer Tong (Pakorn Chatborirak), seems like the perfect antidote. Yet, even his very presence soon causes a rift between the girls, unbeknownst to him. Youthful misunderstandings pile up in the flats until both girls find themselves implicated in a scandal that neither of them could have predicted, and it’s a wonder, even if they stay or leave home, whether they’ll ever go back to being the friends they once were.
Pipityakorn’s chemistry with Dechawaleeku is undeniably sweet, and the former’s matter-of-fact nature can create moments that snap the heartstrings in two. Yet it’s the latter’s subtle body language that really steals the limelight. The longing, hurt and undeniably tragic look in Dechawaleeku’s eyes as she has to take everything she gets from her mother, Tong and even Jane shatters any of the tenderness we were hoping – or praying – to expect. She is truly a master of her craft, especially for someone so young. As ominous as Tong’s introduction may be, the relief that the audience feels when Chatborirak, bringing a paternal force, doesn’t have some ulterior motive is truly refreshing.
First time feature director Wongsutin, no doubt inspired by the likes of Hirokazu Kore-eda, brings both the director’s lighter and darker sides together, merging the unfolding narratives of Monster (2023) with the strong bonds of Our Little Sister (2015), whilst also providing her own spin on things. Unlike the upper to middle class characters in Kore-eda’s later works, Flat Girls presents the more lively reality of Thailand. Filled with grimy apartment blocks, blackouts and badminton courts falling apart – littered with dog faeces, it’s a sour place with bittersweet people. And despite Jane’s wealth, or perhaps because of it, she seems content to stay where she is. Meanwhile for Ann, the flats are not a choice, but a prison. Adding this extra distinction, on top of a romantic one between the girls makes their journey together warm yet ultimately, tragic.
However, while Ann and Jane’s stories are given enough time to breathe, some of the minor characters’ big moments do feel a little rushed. Jane’s mother and her final moments for example, feel more like a vaudeville show than a shocking reveal. Which, considering the thoughtful earlier twists and turns, is an absolute shame.
Flat Girls is a tender coming-of-age film worth going in blind for. The subtlety with which Wongsutin subverts the genre’s many clichés (even its queer ones), gives Dechawaleeku the space to shine alongside Pipityakorn. We know what growing up looks like, but you haven’t quite seen it like this before on the screen.
Flat Girls screens as the Opening Night film of the 2025 Inner West Film Fest on 9 April 2025, more information and tickets here.
