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Review: Bad Genius (ฉลาดเกมส์โกง) (2017)
Pretty good movie. It wasn’t perfect, but it was very thrilling especially towards the climax. All things considered I think it was a decent watch.
Spoilers.
Story
This was a movie about a student cheating scandal. It started with Lynn’s high school, in which she was enlisted by her rich friends Grace and Pat to help them cheat in return for money. She ended up being caught due to a well-meaning classmate, Bank, catching on and thinking that Lynn was a victim of cheating. As a result, her opportunity to apply for a scholarship was revoked and only Bank, the other eligible student, was able to apply.
Lynn’s friends Grace and Pat needed to write the STIC entrance exam in order to apply to a university in the States and asked Lynn to help them cheat again. Lynn was hesitant but gave in, deciding to attend the same university as them. This operation was much larger, as there were higher security measures to this standardized test. There were also more clients.
Lynn needed the help of Bank to sneak out the answers as Bank had a very good memory and could help memorize the answers. However, she knew that Bank wouldn’t agree to do such a thing, as he was upright. Shortly after, Bank was ambushed and beaten, left for dead in a dumpster and he was not able to make the test to apply for the scholarship.
Lynn then approached Bank to join her with the cheating scheme. Bank accepted due to the money he would get. The plan was for the two of them to go to Sydney to write the exam first and then sneak the answers out via text to Grace and Pat who would print the answers onto barcodes on pencils and distribute the pencils.
During the exam, Bank was caught as he was spending extended time in the washroom, where the cell phone was taped to the toilet. It was originally the plan for Bank to feign illness to sneak out the essay question. Lynn had to do this instead as Bank was caught. However, due to Bank having been caught, security was suspicious of her anyway. The security guard chased her to the train station to get her to go back to the exam center. Lynn was able to sneak the cell phone into someone else’s bag before returning.
At the exam station, a representative from the Thai embassy had arrived. Lynn understood she would have to cut off any relation with Bank for the operation to go through. Bank seemed to understand, shooting her a smile as she left. Lynn deleted a picture they had taken by the Sydney Opera House.
Back in Thailand, the operation was a success and Grace, Pat, and the other clients passed with flying colours. However, Lynn was done with it all. She decided she would not go to the US with Grace and Pat, as she would not be able to help them with non-multiple choice exams anyway. She confessed to her crime to her father. She declined her share of the money, and decided to apply to an education program to be a teacher like her father.
The Thai embassy reported Bank to their school and he was expelled. He took his share of the money from the operation and renovated his family’s laundromat. He invited Lynn over to discuss a new cheating scheme for the national GAT/PAT entrance exam. Lynn declined, even when Bank threatened to expose her. In the end, Lynn filmed a confession herself.
I’ll be honest throughout the movie I was team Bank. He was trying so hard to be an upright and moral student. That was why he reported Tong, because he thought he was helping Lynn. He ended up benefitting from it which he felt bad about, as he remained the sole eligible applicant for the scholarship from their school. But that was how things played out.
It was revealed that Pat had arranged for Bank to be beaten up so that he would take his mind off the scholarship program and consider the cheating scheme. Lynn did not know this. However, she was really excited for Bank to joint he scheme as it would be a huge operation and they would stand to earn a lot. Lynn was disgusted when she realized that Pat had sabotaged Bank, because she understood what such a scholarship meant to Bank who came from a poor family. But because Bank was from a poor family, he figured he had no choice but to participate in Grace, Pat, and Lynn’s scheme to at least earn some of that money back.
I think the reason why I sympathized with Bank the most was because he was the one who truly lost the most. He had his life circumstances manipulated by those around him, he was being jerked around. Pat ruined his chances at the scholarship. Then he was the one who got caught even though he and Lynn were doing the same thing. He was expelled. So what does he have now? He has nothing. Meanwhile, Lynn lost nothing, she got away scot-free. Yes, she did confess in the end, but it was her own decision.
Lynn seemed to have the moral high ground at the end of the movie because she believed that being an honest person was better, but she hadn’t suffered and lost the way that Bank had, only by pure choice. And the only lesson Bank was able to learn was that he had to take as much as he could from the world with what he had because he would always lose if he tried to e honest.
I guess in the end, Lynn was the optimistic version of what could have happened, and Bank was the pessimistic version. I finished the movie feeling sad particularly because of Bank’s situation. But I think that it managed to show different perspectives of people being taken advantage of in the whole scandal.
Production
It was pretty good. The tense scenes with regard to cheating in the high school tests were kind of cheesy but I appreciated the spectacle of it because I was at the edge of my seat. But particularly at the STIC cheating scenes, I was really at the edge of my seat.
The actors were decent especially for being so young. The actress for Lynn got a bit of getting used to but I think overall she was alright.
Characters
Lynn
Lynn was the main character. She was very smart, but she was also a bit sly. When entering the school, she was hesitant because of the high fees. It was probably crass to bring it up, but it managed to reduce some fees. But it showed that Lynn already had a somewhat cynical view of the world, especially as she learned that students would give additional ‘tea money’ to supplement tuition to the school.
Lynn first cheated because she wanted to help a friend out. Grace had been very nice to her from the beginning and I think Lynn felt a bit indebted or attached to her. I think Lynn agreed to the wider cheating scheme at high school because of her cynical perspective. She figured that if everybody was doing something immoral, then it was fine for her too.
After getting caught, Lynn didn’t want to continue cheating, especially since her father was disappointed with her. She did hold her father in high esteem, despite their somewhat strained relationship. She understood that he lived humbly so that they could save money for her schooling.
Lynn was easily persuaded back to cheating for the STIC by Grace. I think she was a bit easily swayed but perhaps at that time she still considered Grace a friend. And why wouldn’t she? Grace was cute and peppy, Grace was open with affection, Grace always needed her.
When planning for the STIC scheme, I think Lynn fashioned herself something of a mastermind. She seemed very confident. But more than actually cheating, I think she was just excited to be able to use her brains and to see this grand project go through. She was so pleased when Bank agreed because he was the last puzzle piece.
Lynn never really aligned her moral compass with Bank. He was super straight edge and as discussed, I think Lynn was cynical. However, she snapped out of it when she understood what Pat had done. Pat had sabotaged Bank’s opportunity to apply for the scholarship that would fund an entire university education. This was huge for Bank who was very poor, possibly in a worse financial position than Lynn. While Lynn’s father was a teacher, Bank’s mother ran a laundromat and we saw that she sometimes had to do manual labour. She understood that Pat had ruined Bank’s future for their scheme.
Lynn was upset and she quit on them, no longer letting herself be swayed by Grace. She only returned because Bank told her that his participation was her responsibility. The only reason Bank had suffered was because of Lynn’s plan. In Sydney, Lynn and Bank reconciled a bit. At least they could enjoy their time in Sydney, at least they could be partners in this.
When Bank was caught, Lynn had to think fast and get the answers out on her own. At the time, I think she was just so focused on seeing the project through. It was only afterwards that it really hit her what she’d done. She did have a hand in ruining Bank’s future, as he was caught and expelled out of their prestigious high school. She realized that she nearly singlehandedly helped all of those students cheat, cheating the academic system that was meant to foster young minds.
When she returned, she decided she was done for real. She cut ties with Grace and Pat, including refusing the money. She confessed all of her wrongdoing to her father, whom she always respected. She realized she acted in a way that went against what he stood for, what she was taught to stand for. And she decided that her responsibility as someone with academic capability was to help others learn. Not only learn academically, but learn to be good people, so that they wouldn’t have to go through what she went through to learn right and wrong.
In the end, it was like Lynn and Bank swapped worldviews. Lynn used to be cynical but now she had hope. Even if the world wasn’t perfect, she could do what was in her power to inspire good.
Bank
Bank was the other scholarship student at the prestigious high school. He was very humble very upright. While Lynn was more confident, he was always a bit nervous. But they were both very smart. In particular, Bank also had a very good memory. It’s presumed that his father is not in the picture and his mother ran a laundromat.
When approached by Tong to help him cheat, Bank declined, valuing academic integrity. Bank was trying to do good by reporting Tong for cheating on Lynn. Of course he didn’t realize that Lynn was in on the scheme and that she’d be exposed for doing Tong’s test for him, which resulted in the school blocking her from applying for the scholarship. Bank gained from reporting Tong’s cheating, but he wasn’t going to argue against this opportunity that landed in his lap. It’s a very dog eat dog world, and as a boy who came from a low income family, he needed this opportunity.
Bank was beaten up and missed the exam to apply for the scholarship. Bank was approached by Lynn to help with the cheating scheme. Bank was really reluctant but since he missed out on the scholarship, at least he was going to get money out of it.
Bank was infuriated when Pat mentioned him being left in the dumpster. Bank had not revealed this information to anyone so he realized that Pat was responsible for his sabotage. That was his future, his honest way to a good education, all gone because of the whim of this rich guy. Lynn sympathized and backed out, disgusted by Pat’s behaviour. But Bank followed his previous line of thinking, that he had nothing left, so at least he could get money. While Lynn didn’t want to rejoin, Bank told Lynn that is was her fault that he was in this mess to begin with, so if he decided to go through with it, she better as well.
During the exam, Bank tried to get more money out of Grace and Pat, who eventually gave in. At this point we saw that Bank was becoming more opportunistic. This was his only way of winning in this world, so he was going to withhold his assets to extort as much as he could. Bank was eventually caught. Most of it was left off screen but he was reported to the Thai embassy in Sydney who then reported him to his school and he was expelled.
However, Bank did pick up his money and he used that money to renovate his family laundromat, with him becoming the new boss. He invited Lynn over to ask her to participate in a new cheating scheme. He said that he had a better plan to prevent cheating and that they’d have more clients from Thailand for the national exam anyway.
As mentioned, Bank and Lynn swapped worldviews. Bank used to be very naïve about the world, believing that as long as he did the right thing, things would work out. This debacle showed that so much of his life was in the hands of the more privileged. He did nothing but be hardworking at his job and he still suffered only because Pat wanted to participate in his scheme. He ruined Bank’s future for this.
Lynn tried to convince Bank not to go through with this, to just take her portion of the money from Grace and Pat if he wanted more money. But Bank felt that if he had the means, he should just take what he can. In this case, he knew he could use his academic talent to extort people. When Lynn declined, Bank threatened to report her so that she would lose everything as he did. But Lynn at that point had come to peace with that. She’d be ok with being reported.
The difference between Lynn and Bank was that Bank had destruction forcibly brought to him. He actually lost everything. Lynn only stood at the sidelines. She lost nothing and she could have continued. It was only the guilt that guided her. But people like Bank definitely exist in the world. People who wanted to do good but life fucked them over and they had no choice but to play dirty.
Grace
Grace was a popular and nice girl at school. On Lynn’s first day, Grace befriended her and they were close ever since. Grace wanted to act in the school play but she needed to have a good grade in order to do so. Lynn agreed to help Grace study past papers to bring her mark up. It was through this that Lynn realized that the past papers were actually a copy of the exam that had somehow been leaked.
Perhaps Grace was a good manipulator, perhaps she was good at feigning weakness, so Lynn felt like she had to help Grace pass the test so that she could join the school play. Grace had told Pat about what had happened and that was how the operation grew. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that Grace was a part of the operation every step of the way. Every time Lynn wanted to leave, it was Grace who convinced her to stay.
Grace was asked by her and Pat’s parents to join Pat in the US where they could study together. They were operating under the guise that Grace was helping Pat study and that was why their grades were so good. Of course Grace knew she could not do well on the STIC so she enlisted Lynn’s help, even though Lynn had backed out.
Lynn refused Grace for the first time after Lynn found out that Pat had orchestrated Bank being beat up. But I think it was then that Lynn started to see Grace as part of the scheme, and not as her friend anymore. When Lynn returned from Sydney she no longer reacted to Grace’s affections, and she cut their ties.
Pat
Pat was Grace’s rich boyfriend who first brought up the cheating scheme. His reasoning was that if he passed his tests, his father would buy him a car. He recruited some of his friends into the scheme too and that earned Lynn money. For the STIC exam, I think Pat was probably the main representative. He did enlist Tong to help, but when the clients and deliverers were getting mad, it was Pat who assuaged them.
Pat was mostly business-minded. He wanted to make money, and he didn’t care about other people. He did not consider the magnitude of what he had done to Bank, only worried that Bank would leave the scheme. He only cared about himself and his own goals. Classic capitalist.
Themes
Integrity
As mentioned, Lynn and Bank swapped worldviews in terms of integrity. Lynn started off thinking that cheating here and there was fine, as everyone including adults did it. The tea money wasn’t really explored, so it’s hard to say whether it was really just school maintenance or if it was a bribe on the side from her father. But to a teenage Lynn, it would have looked the same anyway. But as she got further into the cheating schemes, she saw how it ruined Bank, and she realized that it wasn’t a win-win situation. She and Bank were risking so much for money and yet the clients back home could afford to lose. She realized that she didn’t want to live in a world where this could happen. She realized that her father wanted her to grow up and live in a world where people could get by on their own integrity and merit.
For Bank, he grew up very moral. He did everything by the book, he was very honest. Things only changed when he was beaten up and lost his chance at the scholarship. That was such a good opportunity and he lost it. Maybe he took the cheating job due to a moment of weakness because that amount of money was something he could not earn for a long time. Then he got caught and then was expelled. But at least he had money to renovate the laundromat. Bank told Lynn that if they got caught cheating on the GAT/PAT, they wouldn’t go to jail, which he knew now because all that happened was that he was expelled from school. For Bank who lost a great future from that scholarship, losing anything more was no big deal. He was only ever able to win with cheating, taking things into his own hands.
So I guess the question is do you believe in the system? Lynn now believes in the system, or she believes in the process that as time passes and as we teach our young to be optimistic and altruistic about the world, then the world will be a better place. But the system screwed over Bank and he knows better that you can only ever win by cheating the system.
Class differences
The differences between Lynn and Bank vs. Grace and Pat were stark. It wasn’t so obvious at first, they were all just business partnership. But it started coming to light when Pat had just had Bank beaten up, not realizing he had taken Bank’s way of getting himself out of poverty away from him. Of course this didn’t matter to Pat, he was rich. Grace and Pat completely did not understand why even Lynn was upset. They were very short-sighted because they could afford to be. Bank used to be very long-sighted, hoping to get his family into a better position. I think Lynn used to be short-sighted too, but she’s become more long-sighted.
Overall
Decent movie. As you can see, it brings up a lot of discussion despite it seeming only like a thriller movie on the surface.
Spoilers.
Story
This was a movie about a student cheating scandal. It started with Lynn’s high school, in which she was enlisted by her rich friends Grace and Pat to help them cheat in return for money. She ended up being caught due to a well-meaning classmate, Bank, catching on and thinking that Lynn was a victim of cheating. As a result, her opportunity to apply for a scholarship was revoked and only Bank, the other eligible student, was able to apply.
Lynn’s friends Grace and Pat needed to write the STIC entrance exam in order to apply to a university in the States and asked Lynn to help them cheat again. Lynn was hesitant but gave in, deciding to attend the same university as them. This operation was much larger, as there were higher security measures to this standardized test. There were also more clients.
Lynn needed the help of Bank to sneak out the answers as Bank had a very good memory and could help memorize the answers. However, she knew that Bank wouldn’t agree to do such a thing, as he was upright. Shortly after, Bank was ambushed and beaten, left for dead in a dumpster and he was not able to make the test to apply for the scholarship.
Lynn then approached Bank to join her with the cheating scheme. Bank accepted due to the money he would get. The plan was for the two of them to go to Sydney to write the exam first and then sneak the answers out via text to Grace and Pat who would print the answers onto barcodes on pencils and distribute the pencils.
During the exam, Bank was caught as he was spending extended time in the washroom, where the cell phone was taped to the toilet. It was originally the plan for Bank to feign illness to sneak out the essay question. Lynn had to do this instead as Bank was caught. However, due to Bank having been caught, security was suspicious of her anyway. The security guard chased her to the train station to get her to go back to the exam center. Lynn was able to sneak the cell phone into someone else’s bag before returning.
At the exam station, a representative from the Thai embassy had arrived. Lynn understood she would have to cut off any relation with Bank for the operation to go through. Bank seemed to understand, shooting her a smile as she left. Lynn deleted a picture they had taken by the Sydney Opera House.
Back in Thailand, the operation was a success and Grace, Pat, and the other clients passed with flying colours. However, Lynn was done with it all. She decided she would not go to the US with Grace and Pat, as she would not be able to help them with non-multiple choice exams anyway. She confessed to her crime to her father. She declined her share of the money, and decided to apply to an education program to be a teacher like her father.
The Thai embassy reported Bank to their school and he was expelled. He took his share of the money from the operation and renovated his family’s laundromat. He invited Lynn over to discuss a new cheating scheme for the national GAT/PAT entrance exam. Lynn declined, even when Bank threatened to expose her. In the end, Lynn filmed a confession herself.
I’ll be honest throughout the movie I was team Bank. He was trying so hard to be an upright and moral student. That was why he reported Tong, because he thought he was helping Lynn. He ended up benefitting from it which he felt bad about, as he remained the sole eligible applicant for the scholarship from their school. But that was how things played out.
It was revealed that Pat had arranged for Bank to be beaten up so that he would take his mind off the scholarship program and consider the cheating scheme. Lynn did not know this. However, she was really excited for Bank to joint he scheme as it would be a huge operation and they would stand to earn a lot. Lynn was disgusted when she realized that Pat had sabotaged Bank, because she understood what such a scholarship meant to Bank who came from a poor family. But because Bank was from a poor family, he figured he had no choice but to participate in Grace, Pat, and Lynn’s scheme to at least earn some of that money back.
I think the reason why I sympathized with Bank the most was because he was the one who truly lost the most. He had his life circumstances manipulated by those around him, he was being jerked around. Pat ruined his chances at the scholarship. Then he was the one who got caught even though he and Lynn were doing the same thing. He was expelled. So what does he have now? He has nothing. Meanwhile, Lynn lost nothing, she got away scot-free. Yes, she did confess in the end, but it was her own decision.
Lynn seemed to have the moral high ground at the end of the movie because she believed that being an honest person was better, but she hadn’t suffered and lost the way that Bank had, only by pure choice. And the only lesson Bank was able to learn was that he had to take as much as he could from the world with what he had because he would always lose if he tried to e honest.
I guess in the end, Lynn was the optimistic version of what could have happened, and Bank was the pessimistic version. I finished the movie feeling sad particularly because of Bank’s situation. But I think that it managed to show different perspectives of people being taken advantage of in the whole scandal.
Production
It was pretty good. The tense scenes with regard to cheating in the high school tests were kind of cheesy but I appreciated the spectacle of it because I was at the edge of my seat. But particularly at the STIC cheating scenes, I was really at the edge of my seat.
The actors were decent especially for being so young. The actress for Lynn got a bit of getting used to but I think overall she was alright.
Characters
Lynn
Lynn was the main character. She was very smart, but she was also a bit sly. When entering the school, she was hesitant because of the high fees. It was probably crass to bring it up, but it managed to reduce some fees. But it showed that Lynn already had a somewhat cynical view of the world, especially as she learned that students would give additional ‘tea money’ to supplement tuition to the school.
Lynn first cheated because she wanted to help a friend out. Grace had been very nice to her from the beginning and I think Lynn felt a bit indebted or attached to her. I think Lynn agreed to the wider cheating scheme at high school because of her cynical perspective. She figured that if everybody was doing something immoral, then it was fine for her too.
After getting caught, Lynn didn’t want to continue cheating, especially since her father was disappointed with her. She did hold her father in high esteem, despite their somewhat strained relationship. She understood that he lived humbly so that they could save money for her schooling.
Lynn was easily persuaded back to cheating for the STIC by Grace. I think she was a bit easily swayed but perhaps at that time she still considered Grace a friend. And why wouldn’t she? Grace was cute and peppy, Grace was open with affection, Grace always needed her.
When planning for the STIC scheme, I think Lynn fashioned herself something of a mastermind. She seemed very confident. But more than actually cheating, I think she was just excited to be able to use her brains and to see this grand project go through. She was so pleased when Bank agreed because he was the last puzzle piece.
Lynn never really aligned her moral compass with Bank. He was super straight edge and as discussed, I think Lynn was cynical. However, she snapped out of it when she understood what Pat had done. Pat had sabotaged Bank’s opportunity to apply for the scholarship that would fund an entire university education. This was huge for Bank who was very poor, possibly in a worse financial position than Lynn. While Lynn’s father was a teacher, Bank’s mother ran a laundromat and we saw that she sometimes had to do manual labour. She understood that Pat had ruined Bank’s future for their scheme.
Lynn was upset and she quit on them, no longer letting herself be swayed by Grace. She only returned because Bank told her that his participation was her responsibility. The only reason Bank had suffered was because of Lynn’s plan. In Sydney, Lynn and Bank reconciled a bit. At least they could enjoy their time in Sydney, at least they could be partners in this.
When Bank was caught, Lynn had to think fast and get the answers out on her own. At the time, I think she was just so focused on seeing the project through. It was only afterwards that it really hit her what she’d done. She did have a hand in ruining Bank’s future, as he was caught and expelled out of their prestigious high school. She realized that she nearly singlehandedly helped all of those students cheat, cheating the academic system that was meant to foster young minds.
When she returned, she decided she was done for real. She cut ties with Grace and Pat, including refusing the money. She confessed all of her wrongdoing to her father, whom she always respected. She realized she acted in a way that went against what he stood for, what she was taught to stand for. And she decided that her responsibility as someone with academic capability was to help others learn. Not only learn academically, but learn to be good people, so that they wouldn’t have to go through what she went through to learn right and wrong.
In the end, it was like Lynn and Bank swapped worldviews. Lynn used to be cynical but now she had hope. Even if the world wasn’t perfect, she could do what was in her power to inspire good.
Bank
Bank was the other scholarship student at the prestigious high school. He was very humble very upright. While Lynn was more confident, he was always a bit nervous. But they were both very smart. In particular, Bank also had a very good memory. It’s presumed that his father is not in the picture and his mother ran a laundromat.
When approached by Tong to help him cheat, Bank declined, valuing academic integrity. Bank was trying to do good by reporting Tong for cheating on Lynn. Of course he didn’t realize that Lynn was in on the scheme and that she’d be exposed for doing Tong’s test for him, which resulted in the school blocking her from applying for the scholarship. Bank gained from reporting Tong’s cheating, but he wasn’t going to argue against this opportunity that landed in his lap. It’s a very dog eat dog world, and as a boy who came from a low income family, he needed this opportunity.
Bank was beaten up and missed the exam to apply for the scholarship. Bank was approached by Lynn to help with the cheating scheme. Bank was really reluctant but since he missed out on the scholarship, at least he was going to get money out of it.
Bank was infuriated when Pat mentioned him being left in the dumpster. Bank had not revealed this information to anyone so he realized that Pat was responsible for his sabotage. That was his future, his honest way to a good education, all gone because of the whim of this rich guy. Lynn sympathized and backed out, disgusted by Pat’s behaviour. But Bank followed his previous line of thinking, that he had nothing left, so at least he could get money. While Lynn didn’t want to rejoin, Bank told Lynn that is was her fault that he was in this mess to begin with, so if he decided to go through with it, she better as well.
During the exam, Bank tried to get more money out of Grace and Pat, who eventually gave in. At this point we saw that Bank was becoming more opportunistic. This was his only way of winning in this world, so he was going to withhold his assets to extort as much as he could. Bank was eventually caught. Most of it was left off screen but he was reported to the Thai embassy in Sydney who then reported him to his school and he was expelled.
However, Bank did pick up his money and he used that money to renovate his family laundromat, with him becoming the new boss. He invited Lynn over to ask her to participate in a new cheating scheme. He said that he had a better plan to prevent cheating and that they’d have more clients from Thailand for the national exam anyway.
As mentioned, Bank and Lynn swapped worldviews. Bank used to be very naïve about the world, believing that as long as he did the right thing, things would work out. This debacle showed that so much of his life was in the hands of the more privileged. He did nothing but be hardworking at his job and he still suffered only because Pat wanted to participate in his scheme. He ruined Bank’s future for this.
Lynn tried to convince Bank not to go through with this, to just take her portion of the money from Grace and Pat if he wanted more money. But Bank felt that if he had the means, he should just take what he can. In this case, he knew he could use his academic talent to extort people. When Lynn declined, Bank threatened to report her so that she would lose everything as he did. But Lynn at that point had come to peace with that. She’d be ok with being reported.
The difference between Lynn and Bank was that Bank had destruction forcibly brought to him. He actually lost everything. Lynn only stood at the sidelines. She lost nothing and she could have continued. It was only the guilt that guided her. But people like Bank definitely exist in the world. People who wanted to do good but life fucked them over and they had no choice but to play dirty.
Grace
Grace was a popular and nice girl at school. On Lynn’s first day, Grace befriended her and they were close ever since. Grace wanted to act in the school play but she needed to have a good grade in order to do so. Lynn agreed to help Grace study past papers to bring her mark up. It was through this that Lynn realized that the past papers were actually a copy of the exam that had somehow been leaked.
Perhaps Grace was a good manipulator, perhaps she was good at feigning weakness, so Lynn felt like she had to help Grace pass the test so that she could join the school play. Grace had told Pat about what had happened and that was how the operation grew. But I think it’s important to acknowledge that Grace was a part of the operation every step of the way. Every time Lynn wanted to leave, it was Grace who convinced her to stay.
Grace was asked by her and Pat’s parents to join Pat in the US where they could study together. They were operating under the guise that Grace was helping Pat study and that was why their grades were so good. Of course Grace knew she could not do well on the STIC so she enlisted Lynn’s help, even though Lynn had backed out.
Lynn refused Grace for the first time after Lynn found out that Pat had orchestrated Bank being beat up. But I think it was then that Lynn started to see Grace as part of the scheme, and not as her friend anymore. When Lynn returned from Sydney she no longer reacted to Grace’s affections, and she cut their ties.
Pat
Pat was Grace’s rich boyfriend who first brought up the cheating scheme. His reasoning was that if he passed his tests, his father would buy him a car. He recruited some of his friends into the scheme too and that earned Lynn money. For the STIC exam, I think Pat was probably the main representative. He did enlist Tong to help, but when the clients and deliverers were getting mad, it was Pat who assuaged them.
Pat was mostly business-minded. He wanted to make money, and he didn’t care about other people. He did not consider the magnitude of what he had done to Bank, only worried that Bank would leave the scheme. He only cared about himself and his own goals. Classic capitalist.
Themes
Integrity
As mentioned, Lynn and Bank swapped worldviews in terms of integrity. Lynn started off thinking that cheating here and there was fine, as everyone including adults did it. The tea money wasn’t really explored, so it’s hard to say whether it was really just school maintenance or if it was a bribe on the side from her father. But to a teenage Lynn, it would have looked the same anyway. But as she got further into the cheating schemes, she saw how it ruined Bank, and she realized that it wasn’t a win-win situation. She and Bank were risking so much for money and yet the clients back home could afford to lose. She realized that she didn’t want to live in a world where this could happen. She realized that her father wanted her to grow up and live in a world where people could get by on their own integrity and merit.
For Bank, he grew up very moral. He did everything by the book, he was very honest. Things only changed when he was beaten up and lost his chance at the scholarship. That was such a good opportunity and he lost it. Maybe he took the cheating job due to a moment of weakness because that amount of money was something he could not earn for a long time. Then he got caught and then was expelled. But at least he had money to renovate the laundromat. Bank told Lynn that if they got caught cheating on the GAT/PAT, they wouldn’t go to jail, which he knew now because all that happened was that he was expelled from school. For Bank who lost a great future from that scholarship, losing anything more was no big deal. He was only ever able to win with cheating, taking things into his own hands.
So I guess the question is do you believe in the system? Lynn now believes in the system, or she believes in the process that as time passes and as we teach our young to be optimistic and altruistic about the world, then the world will be a better place. But the system screwed over Bank and he knows better that you can only ever win by cheating the system.
Class differences
The differences between Lynn and Bank vs. Grace and Pat were stark. It wasn’t so obvious at first, they were all just business partnership. But it started coming to light when Pat had just had Bank beaten up, not realizing he had taken Bank’s way of getting himself out of poverty away from him. Of course this didn’t matter to Pat, he was rich. Grace and Pat completely did not understand why even Lynn was upset. They were very short-sighted because they could afford to be. Bank used to be very long-sighted, hoping to get his family into a better position. I think Lynn used to be short-sighted too, but she’s become more long-sighted.
Overall
Decent movie. As you can see, it brings up a lot of discussion despite it seeming only like a thriller movie on the surface.