After the release was delayed due to the floods, the first movie from veteran TV producer Totsaphol Srisukhontarat, has finally hit theaters. And as it is the month of love, this romantic-drama’s release is at least blessed with fortunate timing.
The Melody is a love story about a famous singer who falls in love with a girl suffering from a potentially-fatal illness. Predictably, the stereotypical bad boy is then reformed by the love of this good woman.
After the egotistical singer and pianist Win’s (Worrawech “Dan” Danuwong) latest single flops, he heads to Mae Hong Son to escape from the embarrassment. There, he meets Mok (Piyachat “Chat” Limthammahisorn), also a pianist, who pushes Win to express himself more honestly. They gradually fall in love with each other, and when Win finally learns that Mok is suffering from leukemia, he tries to save her (and his career) from seemingly certain death.
The trouble is you can guess how this will all turn out. The film makers have clearly watched a lot of sad Korean movies, or if you’re a fan of American movies, you might also be reminded of A Walk to Remember. What does keep the audience engaged is the film’s beautiful backdrop of Northern Thailand. Each scene is like a music video packed with old pop music and spectacular views from Mae Hong Son, like the bua tong blossoms at Doi Mae Ou Khor or the picturesque lake at Pang Ung.
The movie is at least well-made. The TAT must be thrilled with this production. But it’s also dreadfully boring. The cinematography is pretty, the screenplay is fine, the actors are average, but The Melody is just a tune we’ve heard far too many times before.