Parents' Guide to Everybody Loves Me When I'm Dead

This Thai thriller starts out as a by-the-numbers crime tale and slowly turns into something darker and completely unexpected. Everybody Loves Me When I'm Dead follows Toh, a bank employee who is desperate to pay for his daughter's school tuition, which leads him into a dangerous plot to take a fortune from a dormant account. Halfway through the story, it becomes clear that Toh is much more morally complex than we thought, and the film spends time showing how his desire to do right by his family leads him to commit actions that don't align with who he really is. Wongpuapan, a well-known Thai TV star, gives a wonderful performance full of subtlety and intensity. We end up rooting for someone who is making terrible decisions and even committing violent acts, which is both fascinating and uncomfortable.

The movie tries to tackle a lot at once as it explores class divides, the pressures of social mobility, and the costs of chasing easy solutions, while also including subplots like a villain who sets people on fire (which feels inspired by No Country for Old Men). Some of these elements feel like they belong in a different movie, and others feel heavy-handed rather than poetic (it snows every time Toh does something morally dubious), which makes the story feel a little convoluted and repetitive at times. The film is long, the pacing uneven, and yet it keeps pulling you in with sharp performances, smart storytelling, and moments of real tension. The ending is bleak but entirely earned, leaving a lasting impression that lingers after the screen fades to black.