While I had a relatively normal suburban upbringing as a child, I did suffer from depression and constantly thought the world was against me. It was hard for me to fit in with my peers, and throughout my time in high school, I was bullied for being so quiet and enjoying things like video games, martial arts films, and computer science. I would routinely wish for death in those moments, and it eventually culminated in me seeking help early in my 20s, which would change my life. When I look back, I’m happy with certain aspects of my teenage years, but wish I could have identified the problem sooner and fixed things. That misery doesn’t compare to what the main characters in Flat Girls go through, though.
Flat Girls follows the trials and tribulations of two young women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember. Though the two live in the same state-sanctioned police complex (their fathers worked for the authorities), they have vastly different experiences in life due to circumstances outside of their control. Across its two-hour runtime, the film explores the division that starts to form between them and how their upbringing colors the way they navigate life.
It’s heavy stuff, occasionally breaching hopelessness, but a film that tells a powerful story of overcoming odds, fighting for yourself, and growing up well beyond your means. So, you know, a family story!
Flat Girls
Director: Jirassaya Wongsutin
Release Date: February 6, 2025 (Thailand), July 15, 2025 (NYAFF)
Country: Thailand
Flat Girls is focused on the struggles of Ann (Fatima Dechawaleekul) and Jane (Kirana Pipityakorn), childhood friends living in the aforementioned police flats. On the cusp of finishing high school and entering the real world, the prospect of moving beyond their lower-class means starts to bring into focus what each girl wants out of life once they go to college. Ann, who has had to endure much hardship thanks to gambling addicted mother, Oom (Kornpassorn Ratanameathanont), wants to leave the flats behind and dreams of being a flight attendant. Ann, who has a rather distant police chief father, Phong (Suraphan Chaopaknam), and an overbearing landlady mother (Namfon Pakdee), Nee, mostly just wants things to stay the same. This clashing of desires drives a wedge between the girls that neither one seems to be able to properly navigate.
I’m kind of skipping over things here, but summarizing what Flat Girls covers is actually quite a tall order. Mixed in with its look at two young girls’ future plans is a burgeoning romance between the two that winds up going unrequited. Making matters worse, a new police recruit, Tong (Pakorn Chatborirak), moves into the flats and starts a rather physical friendship with Ann. Since Jane truly loves Ann but can’t express herself freely, she winds up becoming jealous and inadvertently sabotaging herself. Surprisingly, though, when she does finally work up the courage to act on her feelings, she pushes them down again out of fear. This, in turn, hurts Ann deeply and leads her to Tong.
More than the specifics of any drama, though, is that Flat Girls is about discovering who you truly are when things are outside of your control. Both of the girls at the center of this story are at the point in life where they want ultimate freedom, but can’t quite have it yet. They break the rules by routinely breaking into a usually empty flat to smoke and drink with their friend, Nice (Wachirakon Raksasuwan), but then have to answer to adults when things go wrong. They spend late nights exploring their hometown, only to come home and be greeted with life’s problems. It doesn’t help that Ann has to work herself to the bone to deal with her mom’s gambling addiction while Jane lives a relatively cushy life since her father is a police captain. That difference in economic class leads to resentment when Jane can’t simply speak to what’s in her heart.
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As I watched, I also was reminded of Jennifer Lawrence’s breakout role in Winter’s Bone. The majority of that film was about a teenager who was forced to grow up too quickly due to a rather negligent mother. Ann fits that bill completely, being the anchor for her family that keeps everyone together. Ann’s mother lays the blame for everything squarely on Ann, and since her father is nowhere to be found, there is always a potential that Ann’s family will be kicked out of the flats. Jane’s mother doesn’t help things, constantly badgering Ann’s mother for money and threatening to have her evicted. While Jane is able to remain childish and carefree, Ann is constantly worrying about financial issues and general housework. They are on two completely different wavelengths.
Where things get a bit messy in Flat Girls is with Tong’s character. There is some ambiguity about whether he and Ann enter a relationship together despite their major age gap—Tong is roughly 35 while Ann is around 17-18. While I assume this is a usage of unreliable narrator, as Jane is the one who spreads a rumor about the two, the movie does obfuscate what Ann and Tong get up to. Tong’s whole backstory is that he was a rather shitty father himself, and he now doesn’t get to see his own daughter often. You could read that Tong is trying to make up for his mistakes by helping Ann with money, but you could also read it as Ann selling herself to Tong. Either way, the film presents this complication to the plot and then sort of abandons Tong once he serves his point. He doesn’t get fleshed out enough, and even the strained relationship with his own daughter never comes to a close.
You also have Jane’s mom, Nee, and her own tumultuous relationship with her husband. Phong is barely a presence, and there is a reason for that, but the film doesn’t spend much time with Nee to really develop this angle. Now, I wouldn’t expect the story to make random tangents to other characters when the main gist is about Ann and Jane, but when it does divert attention, it feels jarring. Everything is consistent in style and pacing, but it doesn’t add too much to either character’s understanding of their current situation.
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Now, some of that is just life. Real life doesn’t have happy endings for every person, and even when people do find closure, it’s not always in the form they want. Flat Girls is very realistic in its depiction of poverty and classism, so I can’t fault the film for not providing an answer for every character. I would have just liked to see things from the kid’s perspectives instead of jumping to other characters now and then. For the most part, Flat Girls does that, but in the few moments when it doesn’t, the loss of focus sticks out.
Thankfully, those moments are carried by incredible acting from the cast. Fatima Dechawaleekul, in particular, is magnificent and conveys so much with just her face. The moment Jane tells Ann that she felt nothing after their kiss, the look of heartbreak in her eyes made me tear up. She also carries her heavy burden with grace, but when the façade breaks, it’s practically demoralizing. I do think Fatima will become a star to keep an eye out for if you’re into Thai productions.
I’m also a big fan of the minimalist approach that director Jirassaya Wongsutin takes. Flat Girls is an economical film, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t moments where some beauty stands out. At various points, Ann and Jane head to the river to watch a cruise ship go by, and the mixture of fluorescent lights, modern structures, and dimly lit roads is wonderous. The scenes in the flat, conversely, are filled with lots of garbage and dilapidated structures, signaling how poor the lives of these people are. There are no wacky camera angles or attempts to elevate the film to fantastical proportions: this is just a snapshot of life that has fun moments, but that also hides a sadness.
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Now, there are some details about the ending I wish I could discuss, but that would absolutely constitute a spoiler. Flat Girls gives you a lot to think about and ends with a message about how we should be grateful to the people who shaped us. Even if your time together comes to an end, that doesn’t mean someone didn’t love you or that you should forget them. Our lives are a collection of different moments that color how we live moving forward. Even in bad times, there are still good things we will take with us forever.
Flat Girls, incidentally, is likely a movie I will think about forever.
