Pat Boonnitipat’s How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies appears to be oddly named, given that the film is about a young man who wants to win his ailing grandmother’s favour so that he can inherit her money. Surely the wealth follows the demise, rather than the other way round?
The significance of the title of Boonnitipat’s Thai smash hit is as enchanting as its understated treatment of a classically melodramatic subject. After conquering the Thai box office earlier in the year and charming viewers around the world, the movie has arrived on Netflix in India. While its themes are deeply familiar to Indian viewers, the subtle handling of family dynamics is leagues ahead of the average local tearjerker.
Struggling game caster M (Putthipong Assaratanakul) senses an opportunity to change his situation when his grandmother Mengju (Usha Seamkhum) is diagnosed with advanced cancer. Encouraged by his cousin Mui (Tontawan Tantivejakul), who has inherited her grandfather’s house as a reward for nursing him, M moves in with Mengju to take care of her.
Perfectly capable of handling herself, the congee stall owner bristles at M’s presence. Her X-ray gaze sees through M’s overnight attention. Some of the movie’s funniest scenes are in its early portions, as M tried to butter up the crusty matriarch.
M’s mission re-acquaints him with the larger family situation. Mengju’s eldest son Kiang (Sanya Kunakorn), who has done well for himself, keeps his distance. M’s mother Sew (Sarinrat Thomas) works hard to be the perfect daughter. Although M is the designated good-for-nothing, that label actually fit Mengju’s youngest son Soei (Pongsatorn Jongwilas), who is steeped in debt.
Television director Pat Boonnitipat’s assured feature debut closely observes characters who are trying to measure up to what is expected of them. The screenplay, by Boonnitipat and Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn, is unhurried in the nicest possible way. No fast camera movements or jarring cuts disturb the feeling of watching actual lives transported onto the screen.
Languidly paced scenes contain rich details and lines of dialogue that make sense only later. Sentimentality is kept at bay by naturalistic performances, Jaithep Raroengjai’s quiet background score, and sensitively crafted moments.
In addition to Boonnitipat, the film has two other remarkable debuts. Thai television actor and singer Putthipong Assaratanakul is a beguiling lead, effortlessly mounting a charm offensive that even the naturally suspicious Mengju finds hard to resist. Assaratanakul’s star-making turn is ably complemented by Usha Seamkhum’s wise and pragmatic Mengju.
The empathy across the 126-minute film extends to the other characters, including the street-smart Miu. M’s cousin, who has all the luck that he desires, is also the one who makes him see that karma is earned, rather than bequeathed.
The perfect balance between bad intentions and good deeds comes undone only in the climax. There isn’t a trace of manipulation or predictable cutesiness in How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, which makes the final scene a bit suspect.
The movie has arguably already ended several scenes ago, in a moving encounter between M and Mengju. In this sequence, grandmother and grandson bridge the generation gap and their previous hostility to tug at the heart-strings, but ever so gently.
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