Neung Nai Suang (2005)

I decided to watch this first instead of the 2015 remake because a lot of viewers were saying that the older version was a lot better. And I can see why because this is a very character-driven show and as much as I like James Jirayu, he simply wasn't able to pull off the character of Anawat the way Ken Theeradeth did in this show. And that made a world of a difference.

STORY
Perhaps I should have been alerted to the inference in the synopsis when it said that "having been rejected by Boom, Neung sets out to mess with Boom and prove that he can still get his own way". I am not a fan of power-tripping characters i.e. characters who deliberately set out to bully or oppress others to show that they can get their own way and feel all powerful and all-conquering in the process. Which is why I dislike a lot of the Thai second lead females and villains/ antagonists and tend to fast-forward through their scenes.

But here, the main male lead sports this sort of behaviour towards the main female lead. It is a testament to how well the script was written and how layered and nuanced Ken Theeradeth's acting was as Anawat that I did not immediately drop this drama after the 5th or 6th episode. However, as much as Ken was doing as good a job as he could as Anawat, I still eventually developed a real dislike towards the character that I skipped about 3 episodes entirely so that I could jump right to the last 4 and see how it ended. And I didn't really like the ending either, not because of Ken's bad acting or anything, but because I just disliked the script i.e. the way the characters ended up resolving their circumstances.

So here's the deal: this show is actually a good show.
The reason why I gave it a low score is not because of the production or the acting or even because of bad scripting (when I say bad scripting, I mean bad story-telling). My low score is entirely due to my personal dislike for main characters who pull the bully card on people and who, even after realising their own bad bullying character, made very little effort in making amends but instead went into a tailspin and even used third parties and deception to resolve the situation (i.e. he never really grew up). The whole premise and resolution for this show just rubbed me up in a bad way that no matter how well Ken did in giving Anawat a more layered and nuanced personality, I still found myself entirely dissatisfied with the show because of how his character and circumstances were portrayed.


ACTING/ CAST
KEN THEERADETH - as Anawat/ Neung. I can see why Ken is such a well-loved actor on the Thai drama scene. He can certainly pull of a dislikable character and give him more emotional depth and layers than a lot of the younger and less seasoned actors in the newer dramas these days. Had it been any other actor playing this role, I probably would have dropped this drama entirely within the first few episodes so it is a testament to Ken's performance that I was able to sit through huge chunks of the show despite the fact that he was portraying a character with a personality that I hated. Disliking my lead characters is a real deal-breaker for me in dramas but Ken made his Anawat a lot less hateful.
I am impressed with how naturally and easily Ken looked playing Anawat too. The way he walked and moved, and the way he emoted, it all looked very real and natural on-screen, as though Anawat was a living and breathing person you could meet on the street. There is very little contrived or posed looks which some actors make for the camera so that you know what they're thinking or feeling. I can see why Ken is such a powerhouse actor - pity I disliked the way his character was scripted.
Still, fantastic performance from Ken as Anawat here. I can't see any other actor pulling off this level of performance.

JANIE - as Boom/ Pum/ Hatairat. Superficially, I personally did not find her the amazing beauty the show was trying to sell to me. I think she did rather okay as the main female lead but there were quite a few scenes where I found her acting to be green, rather blank and rather artificial. I think she can handle the big dramatic moments but when it came to the soft, quiet and emotionally charged moments, she could do with lots of improvement. Ken's eyes were shooting all sorts of emotion at her and she presented him with a blank wall a lot of the time. Which made it difficult for me to really understand whether Pum/ Hatairat really secretly liked Anawat despite his 'teasing'. The shifts and change in emotions and the introspective scenes did not really lend much insight to her feelings, unlike Ken's. You'd expect her to be able to show Pum/ Hatairat's conflicted emotions in finding herself liking someone against her own will as the show progressed, but nope, I hardly saw much of it there.

The supporting cast was serviceable. No real standout characters for me here. I actually found some of the actions/ decisions from some of the characters inappropriate and callous - am not sure if it was because of film-culture in 2005 or because it is a Thai drama period quirk but some of the characters who are supposed to be close to Pum hardly empathised with her or understood her. As well-intentioned as some of their actions were, the fact that Pum was put in situations which made her feel very uncomfortable, or was put in circumstances which she really disliked, showed how little those people knew her. Friends or family who care and love you simply don't do this sort of thing to you on a regular basis. I therefore could not really connect or relate to them in a positive way.

So, all said and done, the only glue holding this drama together for me was Mr Ken Theeradeth.


MUSIC
I quite liked the score and background music. It helped to keep a lot of the horrid moments less horrid, and the period feel of it was brought out.


RE-WATCH VALUE
Honestly, for me, I would not touch this again because the entire plot premise and lack of character growth sits very ill with me, and because I dislike the character and personality of the main male lead. As much as Ken was amazing, I simply dislike the essence of the character which doesn't improve itself, to really root for him.

Still, for those who don't mind having a male lead with a rather childish, bullying character (it helps that he is only this way to the main female lead, as opposed to intrinsically horrible across the board), you might want to give this show a watch, because Ken does this sort of character amazingly well.

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