Headshot (2011)

A cop who becomes a hitman for a group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law finds his world turned upside down by a single a devastating blow.

Director:

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang

Writers:

Win Lyovarin (novel), Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (screenplay)

Stars:

Nopachai Chaiyanam, Sirin Horwang, Chanokporn Sayoungkul

5 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nopachai Chaiyanam	...	Tul (as Nopporn Chaiyanam)
Sirin Horwang	...	Rin
Chanokporn Sayoungkul	...	Joy / Tiwa
Apisit Opasaimlikit	...	Torpong
Kiat Punpiputt	...	Dr. Suang (as Krerkkiat Punpiputt)
Theeradanai Suwannahom	...	Tin
Nadim Xavier Salhani
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daisuke Kashiki
Yasu Peron

Storyline

This Thai crime noir tells the story of Tul, a hitman who wakes up from a coma to realize that he's now seeing everything upside down. Tul wants to quit but is instead recruited to join a secret organization that gets rid of crooked politicians untouched by the law.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | coma | thailand | flashback | death of girlfriend | 

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Taglines:

Bangkok's most dangerous cop is about to have his world turned upside down.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Thailand France

Language:

Thai

Release Date:

24 November 2011 (Thailand)

Also Known As:

Fejlövés

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$456, 30 September 2012

Gross USA:

$456

Company Credits

Production Co:

Local Color Films, Office of the Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Selected in September 2012 to represent Thailand in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2013 Oscars.

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Quotes

Rin: How do you feel to see things upside down?
Tul: At first, I was really frustrated. But now, I think it is the best thing that happened to me in last several years.
Rin: How?
Tul: In the past, I used to see things like everyone sees, just skim through them because everything looks familiar to me. But now I have to really look at the things and people and that make me to see things more clearly.

User Reviews

Interesting well paced thriller with brilliant acting

I find it sometimes hard to get into foreign films for the simple reasons of the language barrier and typically low production values. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang's thriller Headhshot is a rare exception. Though at times the photography was too dark to see clearly what was going on, on the whole I found this film to be easy enough to follow and engaging enough to keep me glued to the screen.

Tul (Nopachai Chaiyanam) is one of the last honest cops struggling with the frustration of being one man against an insurmountable war on drugs. After a major bust involving the brother of a highly placed politician Tul is offered a bribe to lose the evidence and drop the case.

After he turns down a cash offer he is set up. He meets Joy (Chanokporn Sayoungkul) in a parking garage and strikes up a relationship. Now, it might be mentioned here that this seemed a little suspicious to me from the start, since Joy is this smoking hot beauty and Tul is...well, not very handsome...at all. But who knows, maybe Thai chicks dig that sort.

Anyway, after the set-up and the subsequent fall out Tul goes ballistic. He is framed and sent to prison where he is visited by Mr. Demon, a man who offers him a chance to get out of prison if Tul will become their "Special Assassin".

There's no telling what the budget on this film was but I have to say this, whatever it was it was obviously sufficient because everything about this film was excellent. The two actresses in the film, Sayoungkul and Sirin Horwang, were not only incredibly beautiful, they were totally professional. There was no point where they weren't completely believable. How many American actresses can you say that about. In fact, everyone in the film was a fine actor. The script was tight and witty. There was enough action to keep it going without becoming mundane. And even in the action scenes I never got the sense of the all-too-obvious shakycam that plague so many wannabe American directors these days.

All in all it was an excellent movie.