Bad Genius

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Bad Genius, known in Thai as Chalard Games Goeng (????????????), is a 2017 Thai heist thriller film produced by Jor Kwang Films and released by GDH 559. It was directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya, and stars Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying in her acting debut as Lynn, a straight-A student who devises an exams-cheating scheme which eventually rises to international levels.

Inspired by real-life news of students cheating on the SAT, the film transplants the heist film structure to a school-exams setting, and features themes of class inequality as well as teen social issues. The young main cast consist of relative newcomers Chanon Santinatornkul, Teeradon Supapunpinyo and Eisaya Hosuwan as Lynn's classmates Bank, Pat and Grace, while Thaneth Warakulnukroh plays her father. Filming took place on location in Thailand and Australia.

Bad Genius was released on 3 May 2017, placing first at the Thai box office for two weeks and earning over 100 million baht (US$3 million), becoming the highest-grossing Thai film of 2017. The film performed successfully overseas. It broke Thai film earning records in several Asian countries, including China, where it earned over $30 million, making it the most internationally successful Thai film ever. Critics praised the film for its engaging storytelling despite the mundane setting, as well as the acting, especially Chutimon's. It has been screened at several international festivals, winning multiple awards, including Best Feature at the New York Asian Film Festival and Best Director at the Fantasia International Film Festival.

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Plot

Lynn, a top secondary school student living with her father, is accepted into a prestigious school, earning a scholarship for her academic achievements. There, she befriends the good-natured but academically challenged Grace. Lynn begins helping Grace cheat in exams after finding out that their teacher has been leaking questions in private tutoring sessions. She is then approached by Grace's rich boyfriend Pat, who offers payment in exchange for also helping him and his friends. Although at first reluctant, Lynn agrees when she finds out that the school took payments of "tea money" from her father, who earns a modest income as a teacher. She devises a system of hand signals, based on certain piano pieces, and uses them to send answers during exams. Her base of clients eventually grows. However, her cheating is inadvertently revealed by Bank, another top student. She is reprimanded by her father and the school, which suspends her scholarship, as well as her chance to apply for an international scholarship at the university level.

Lynn returns to the cheating business when Pat and Grace ask her to help them cheat in the STIC--an international standardised test for university admissions--a scheme which will earn them millions of baht. However, Lynn tells them that she can only do it with Bank's help, and honest Bank would never join them. Bank, however, is from a poor family and is staking his future on the same university scholarship. When he is attacked by thugs in the street and misses the exam, Lynn approaches him with the offer and Bank reluctantly agrees.

Together, they make preparations for the final operation. Lynn and Bank will fly to Australia in order to get a head start on the exams, which are held globally on the same day, and send back answers for Pat and Grace to distribute to the clients. However, on the eve of their flight, Pat lets slip that it was he who ordered the thugs to beat up Bank, in order to force him to join their scheme. Enraged, Bank attacks Pat and leaves. Lynn, shocked at the revelation, begins rethinking her actions. However, Bank returns to confront Lynn, telling her to take responsibility for the situation and finish what she started.

Lynn and Bank's relationship further develops as they fly to Sydney. On the day of the STIC, they complete the first sections of the test according to plan, but Bank is overcome by anxiety and is caught. Lynn struggles to memorise the final section herself, but finally pulls through. She is pursued by the test administrator after feigning illness and leaving the test centre early, but is released when Bank tells the staff he doesn't know her.

Returning home, Lynn finds that their scheme was a great success, but, broken by the experience, turns her back on her co-conspirators. Some time later, she visits Bank, who has invested his share in revamping his mother's laundry business. Bank invites Lynn to start a different scheme, this time with a much wider client base--those taking the national GAT & PAT exams. She turns him down, telling him that she's made her choice. Lynn finally decides to come clean, tearfully confessing to her father, who comforts her and helps her redeem herself by submitting a formal confession to the STIC organisation.

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Production

Development

Bad Genius was produced by Jira Maligool and Vanridee Pongsittisak, executives and veteran producers at GDH (previously GTH). Jira came up with the film's premise when he heard on the news that SAT scores were being cancelled in China due to a cheating scandal. The producers then invited Nattawut Poonpiriya to direct the film. Nattawut had previously directed the company's 2012 psychological thriller Countdown, and the producers believed his ability would lend itself to developing Bad Genius as a heist film. Nattawut was immediately intrigued, and agreed to direct the project, which was developed under the working title "2B Come Won" (a reference to the 2B pencils used to fill in test choices).

Nattawut wrote the script together with Tanida Hantaweewatana and Vasudhorn Piyaromna, researching the format details of current standardised tests as well as actual methods of exam cheating seen in the news. The script took about 1 ¹/₂ years to complete. The story was developed as a Hollywood-style heist/caper thriller, but the writers made efforts to ground it in a context that would still be relatable to a Thai audience. A major challenge, according to Nattawut, was telling the story of students taking exams--"perhaps the most boring activity on earth"--in a compelling manner. The film's secondary theme, that of the characters' contrasting social backgrounds, emerged during the writing process.

Casting

The film's main cast is relatively inexperienced--none of the four young main actors had film roles in a major studio production prior to 2017. Lead actress Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, who plays Lynn, is a fashion model making her acting debut. Chanon Santinatornkul plays the role of Bank, and Pat and Grace are played by Teeradon Supapunpinyo and Eisaya Hosuwan, respectively. (Chanon, Teeradon and Eisaya have past TV acting experience.) According to Nattawut, casting for the four main actors took a long time before arriving at the four final choices, who were virtually perfect fits for their roles. He was so impressed with their work that he allowed them considerable room for improvisation during filming. The chemistry underlying Lynn and Bank's relationship, for example, was unscripted, and part of Pat's sales pitch speech was ad-libbed by Teeradon.

The only veteran actor in a major role is Thaneth Warakulnukroh, who plays Lynn's father. Primarily a singer and songwriter, Thaneth had been absent from acting for over thirty years when Nattawut came across a magazine interview of him, and invited him to cast for the role. Thaneth brought a special warmth to the character, leading Nattawut to modify the script and make the father less controlling, resulting in a more profound father-daughter relationship.

The actors underwent acting workshops for a couple of months before filming commenced. Romchat Tanalappipat served as acting coach, and worked with the actors before and during filming. Special preparations by the actors include Chutimon having to practice writing with her left hand, as her character is left-handed, and Chanon memorising the value of pi to over the 30th digit.

Filming

Most of the filming took place in Thailand, while about 30 percent was shot on location in Sydney, Australia. About ten crew members flew to Australia from Thailand, while most of the Sydney filming unit was sourced locally. Filming in Sydney was subject to many more restrictions than in Thailand, including strictly limited shooting times. A particularly challenging scene to film was a chase scene which took place at the underground Redfern railway station, which had to be fitted into the trains' normal running schedule.

Stylistically, Nattawut says he was inspired partly by 1970s thrillers such as The Conversation, The Parallax View and All the President's Men, leading him to mix in a certain 1970s retro/vintage style in Bad Genius. Stills from The Godfather were used as a colour palette reference during post-production work done with Kantana Post Production. Nattawut also used 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as a reference.

The film was officially announced by GDH at a press event on 20 April 2017, along with the release of its theme song "Mong Chan Tee" (????????, which translates as "Look at Me"). Performed by Suthita Chanachaisuwan, the song is a rearrangement of the song "Why Can't You See" by Thai indie pop band Fwends, with new lyrics by Apiwat Eurthavornsuk.

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Release and reception

Release

Bad Genius premiered in Thailand on 3 May 2017 at 20:00 (in early preview screenings prior to its full release the following day), earning a hugely positive response from viewers. It was shown on 216 screens, earning 44.15 million baht (US$1.3 million) at the box office over its opening weekend and placing first in Thailand's box office for two consecutive weeks. It passed 100 million baht--a common success benchmark for Thai films--on 20 May, and by the end of its theatrical run on 14 June, had earned 112.15 million baht ($3.3 million), making it the highest-grossing Thai film of 2017.

The film was released internationally throughout East and Southeast Asia, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. It proved to be very successful. It placed first at Hong Kong's box office on its opening weekend, while in Taiwan and Malaysia, the film opened to limited screens but rapidly gained popularity by online word-of-mouth, also rising to the top of the box office in Taiwan. It broke records for highest-grossing Thai film in Cambodia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

The film was released in mainland China on 13 October 2017, a rare occurrence of a Thai film securing a wide release, unedited, in the country. It was very popular, placing second at the Chinese box office and sixth globally (third excluding the US and Canada) during the weekend of 13-15 October. After seventeen days, it had earned $38.4 million (or $36.5M, depending on sources), the highest gross ever of any Thai--or Southeast Asian--film in any overseas market. It was a huge success for Chinese distributor Hengye Pictures, who acquired the rights for flat fee of $3.3 million.

Bad Genius's international success has been compared to that of several Thai hits during the early 2000s, including Ong-Bak, whose previous overseas record was surpassed by Bad Genius soon after its China release. However, the Bangkok Post's film editor Kong Rithdee noted that Bad Genius appeared to be an isolated case, as wider government support of the creative industry was still lacking. Yongyoot Thongkongtoon, GDH's senior director of international business affairs, attributed the film's success (despite the unconventional genre for Thai cinema) to its mainstream story, as well as the region's shared competitive academic culture, which made the film relatable to a wider Asian audience. Although Yongyoot said that the studio's films catered first and foremost to the Thai audience, and that international sales were seen as a bonus, GDH CEO Jina Osothsilp later commented that the company was working to expand its presence in the international market, and that Bad Genius's success in China served as an important milestone in that mission.

On the festival circuit, Bad Genius was screened as the opening feature of the 16th New York Asian Film Festival on 30 June 2017; it was the first Southeast Asian film chosen to open the event. The film was also screened at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, the New Zealand International Film Festival, the Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival, and Fantastic Fest in Austin, as well as the Vancouver, BFI London, Hawaii, San Diego Asian, Toronto Reel Asian and Leeds International Film Festivals.

Bad Genius was released on DVD on 16 November 2017 (after a delay from a previously announced 21 September release date), with a special edition available via pre-order. It was made available online via the iTunes Store and HOOQ the same day.

Critical response

The film was met with critical acclaim in Thailand. Critics praised the film's concept and design, which tackled a familiar, mundane subject and turned it into an exciting caper thriller--something never before seen in Thai cinema. Kong Rithdee observed, "An academic test is the most boring activity on earth. The film's conceit is to turn it into a gladiatorial ring, a place of risk, wit and sublime deception ... and against the odds it works." While Nation TV's Natthapong Okapanom said, "Bad Genius is a work of craft that will help raise Thai cinema to another level of diversity."

Chutimon and Thaneth in particular were commended for their portrayals of Lynn and her father. Praise was also given to the editing and the script--according to A Day magazine's Phanuphan Veeravaphusit: "Due credit must be given to ... the photography, with its unfamiliar-yet-meaningful angles, and shots taken to second-by-second detail, which, combined with the fast-paced editing, add to the suspense, stirring the viewers' emotions throughout the entire story." Many noted the film's subtle critique of Thai society's inequality issues and problems with its education system--although some found fault with the somewhat moralizing ending. Most agreed, however, that despite any flaws, the film succeeded in providing excellent entertainment value.

The film likewise received largely positive responses from international critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 92% based on thirteen reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Reviewing the film for The Hollywood Reporter, Clarence Tsui wrote, "Bad Genius scores high marks as a ceaselessly entertaining thriller that cedes little ground to the cheap comedy and sentimentality of recent Thai hits." And according to Variety's Maggie Lee, "Bad Genius deserves full marks for a whip-smart script that makes answering multiple-choice questions as nail-biting and entertaining as Ocean's Eleven." There were also mixed opinions regarding the ending. While Sarah Ward wrote in Screen that "the feature never shouts its message, nor lets it get in the way of its lively heist-like action," the South China Morning Post's Ben Sin commented, "It's an odd narrative departure [which] gives the impression that Thailand's film censorship system is as strict with moral guidelines as is its mainland Chinese counterpart."

Accolades

Bad Genius has won several film festival awards. It won the Best Feature award at the New York Asian Film Festival, and lead actress Chutimon received the festival's Screen International Rising Star Asia award at the film's screening. Competition jury Kristina Winters spoke of the film, "[Bad Genius] re-envisions the heist movie with grades instead of gold and proves that commercial films can still be innovative and remind us why we love movies. With a complex plot, relentless pacing, driven editing, and strong performances, it makes test-taking exciting and had us on the edge of our seats."

At the Fantasia Film Festival, the film won two jury awards: the Cheval Noir (main competition) Award for Best Director and the Séquences Award for Best Film. It also won gold prize in two Audience Awards, those for Best Asian Feature Film and Most Innovative Feature Film. The film won the Audience Award at the Fukuoka International Film Festival, Best Picture in the Thriller Features category at Fantastic Fest, and the Menkes Audience Choice Award at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. Bad Genius was one of the four finalists considered by the National Federation of Motion Pictures and Contents Associations for Thailand's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not chosen, in favour of By the Time It Gets Dark.

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Notes

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References

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External links

• Official Facebook page
• Bad Genius on IMDb

Source of the article : Wikipedia