The concept of a “blank check” movie may feel resigned to the Hollywood studio system, but there are numerous examples of directors being granted keys to the kingdom after runaway regional successes. And few films surpassed expectations quite like Bad Genius, an Ocean’s Eleven-inspired heist movie about an exam cheating ring, which unexpectedly became the highest grossing Thai film of all time at the worldwide box office, before sweeping the Thai Oscars, receiving uniformly positive reviews from its western festival runs, and even gaining a TV spin-off. For those who have proven themselves capable of transforming such seemingly niche material into an international sensation, there are few producers who wouldn’t wish to collaborate on a future project.

One for the Road director Nattawut Poonpiriya has found a major producing collaborator in the form of Wong Kar-Wai. In his Sundance director’s statement, the Thai filmmaker expressed that working under the guidance of a legend for three years made him feel comfortable with a more personal tale after experiencing mainstream success. To use a term that’s mostly applied to filmmakers in the Hollywood studio system, Poonpiriya took a “one for me” approach after making “one for them.” However, the central problem with One for the Road is that it feels like the director is consistently betraying his desire to make a story relevant to his own experiences, and thus transforms a personal story into a populist melodrama that captures the same multiplex audience as his prior film.

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Boss (Tor Thanapob) is the owner of a Manhattan bar called One for the Road, having moved to the U.S. from Thailand a decade prior. One day, he gets a call from his friend Aood (Ice Natara) who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, and asks his friend to come back to Thailand to embark on a bucket list style trip that will allow him to say goodbye to ex-girlfriends. Boss agrees, but as the pair settle into their journey, it becomes clear that Aood is about to reveal something that will significantly alter their relationship going forward. 

It’s hard not to feel harsh when criticising what is clearly such a personal work for the filmmaker, but this is exactly why One for the Road proves frustrating; it feels less like a heartfelt film and more like a conscious attempt to “level up” after that first brush with mainstream success. There are several ill-fitting moments of broad comedy in the early stages that could have been ripped from Bad Genius, and these sit even more awkwardly next to the moments of sincere drama, where Poonpiriya wears the influence of his producer on his sleeve, hoping to be mentioned in the same breath. The director tries to satisfy the casual viewer whilst proving himself to be more than just a popcorn director, and this constant tug of war does a disservice to his material — no personal work should feel this consciously put together to suit the demands of a wide audience.

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then it is no wonder as to why Wong signed up, with Poonpiriya sparingly using various trademarks ripped straight from his mentor’s book of tried and tested tricks. And this isn’t just in terms of the stylistic trademarks, even though there are sequences that utilise the sepia colour palette seemingly at random, and a soundtrack filled entirely with 60s and 70s soft rock from the west. But also on a basic narrative level, One for the Road is a story filled with mournful reminiscing on lost loves and relationships that never worked out, albeit one whose inter-character frictions feel ripped from a soap opera, never getting close to Wong’s distinct brand of romantically repressed melodrama. One for the Road feels like a filmmaker trying to capture another director’s voice to the extent that they lose their own in the process; a personal story made to feel inauthentic in execution.

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Despite the looming presence of cancer over the storyline in One for the Road, terminal illness barely factors in as a source of narrative tension after the first act, even with a plot that on paper sounds like a Millennial Bucket List. The closest point of comparison seems to be Jonathan Levine’s 50/50, another film about two young men navigating an unexpected cancer diagnosis, but the curious lack of interest in this life-threatening illness proves somewhat baffling as the story progresses. Much of One for the Road’s second half is rooted in flashback, but the memories it evokes don’t give any particular urgency for the characters in the present. The flashbacks to earlier life in New York do represent the film at its strongest, but again, the revelations it teases out are familiar tropes of romantic melodramas, and don’t feel particularly surprising given the inescapable influence of Wong. It’s sad that a personal story feels so familiar in this manner.

One for the Road has its heart in the right place, but proves that some personal stories would be better suited if they weren’t told with audience expectations in mind.