We Are (2024)

excellent, heartfelt ensemble storytelling within a quiet piece

This was the first show I've watched with any of these actors in a main role, and I couldn't be more pleased with my experience. I've long since admired P'New's skill at handling large episode counts, intimate friend groups, and and a quieter, more mature romance and We Are brought all these things in spades. We Are follows a large ensemble of friends and the way their knitting together of friendships and relationships changes the lives of the individuals. It's quiet and generally low-stakes, but the actors bring a weight to these college friendships and romances that makes you feel how important they are to the characters at hand. It ends up being the story of choosing to be gentle, supportive, and brave with those closest to you to foster uplifting communities. I really enjoyed it a lot.

-The Full Review-
STORY:
I absolutely love this story. Each character felt true and dimensional in their own story. It's easy to grasp Peem's aspirations, as well as the life that shaped his personality. Phum's issues with his parents are not expanded on extensively but they are felt throughout his character. The treatment of Toey, the baby of the group, is consistent and serves as an anchor to unite the group when things aren't going well. Even Beer, Matt, and Mick (who have comparatively smaller roles) feel like real installations in their lives and a great representation of friends on the periphery of a core group.
My only real issue with this storytelling is that there was a sometimes awkward pacing with a focus on flashbacks. I felt that the story could be improved if, for example, Q and Toey's history was more naturally integrated into the events of the story. We tended to move from one couple to another in rotation, with large flashbacks to convey prior history, when stronger development between inter-couple relationships proved a more interesting way to discover backstory and emotional mindsets.

ACTING:
I'm noticing this is a rather unpopular opinion, but this show absolutely rocketed Phuwin to my top 10 Thai actors. Between finishing this show and writing this review (less than one week) I've started (and finished) Never Let Me Go and started in on Summer Night. There's a delicacy to his character work that was particularly effective with Peem's gentleness, but that didn't prevent him from truly shining in the boyish, loud, and playful moments. I truly enjoy watching his performances.
For Pond, I thought Phum sat very naturally in his skill set. It was quite satisfying to watch him melt and become a livelier and more active friend. I think that P'New's direction really suited his style and allowed him to make that transition much more realistically and comfortably than in NLMG. The growth was quite stark and I am very proud of him,
Next most stand out performance, to me, was Winny as Q. His character was quite quirky, quiet and reserved--but not necessarily out of a sense of shyness or self-consciousness. I loved the give-and-take of his attentions, as well as his blunt manner of navigating the world. The equally un-self-conscious way he became a sweet and affectionate boyfriend was so cute.
I picked up this series for AouBoom (if you can really say that--I'd only seen them in Midnight Museum, which was hardly a major role lol), and I was surprised, but pleased with their chemistry. I'm not sure what I was expecting from them as a pair, but Aou, especially, walked a line of a character who could be quite annoying very well. You could really feel their character's fondness for each other quite well.
As for the rest, there was no one I was dissatisfied with. Everyone in this ensemble managed to match each other's energy in an infectious and driving way. The connection between the characters was the only thing holding this story together, which is always a difficult task. But the chemistry never collapsed and the ensemble functioned well together. I particularly enjoyed how many "dramatic reveals" had at least three or four other cast members in the background reacting in unison. It was really well done!

PRODUCTION:
I don't have much commentary to make in the production of this show. P'New favors a naturalistic style and that is very apparent here. The costuming and set pieces are suited to the piece and competently assembled, but not particularly attention grabbing. It's clear they production team preferred to highlight the performances of the actors over artistic staging--which I think works just fine for this piece.
For the positives, the most intimate scenes (Q and Peem on the steps, Loy Krathong, conversations in the dark at camp, the gallery show, etc) came off very intimate and warm with just subtle shifts in lighting and framing. I love being allowed to just watch actors act their asses off without a lot of distracting tricks and magic. And this show certainly delivered.
For the negatives, I thought the paintings were really uninspired. With so little time and energy spent on other aspects of the production, and with the importance of painting and art to so many of the characters, I really expected Peem, Q, and Toey's artwork to be.... better, lol. Q, even, barely had a recognizable style/interest despite being the Maestro. I would look to Not Me as a better example of a show that pulled of art students work successfully within a narrative.

INTIMACY:
As I said, I was new to (almost) all of these couples and had no baseline for their chemistry or work together. All of them sold their relationships. I enjoyed that each couple got a unique style of intimacy that reflected their personalities--which is not always the case in ensembles this large. I particularly enjoyed the way that Phum and Peem's sense of intimacy developed ahead of actually confirming their relationship, and their struggles in navigating what that means for them. The use of casual affectionate touch was also quite beautiful in this series.
I found that the NC scenes were rather typical to GMMTV. I think they suited the tone of the story fine, but were a little bit generic? Many other moments of intimacy were more valuable to the characters than any of the sex scenes, which made them feel quite tacked on or simply to fulfill a quota. They didn't detract from the story, but they didn't add to it either. I would really like to see a GMMTV that manages to include sex in a more meaningful, character-motivated way. But these sweet first times were fine.

In all, I really enjoyed this story and it's been sticking with me a lot more strongly than I expected when I first started it. The characters (and their actors) are very charming and it's a feelgood, warm story. It actually made me quite excited for Perfect10Liners because I'd forgotten how good P'New was with juggling broad stories about friendships. I would recommend We Are to anyone looking for something acting-heavy and sweet.

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