Interesting subject-matter and good cinematography can't save this aimless experience...

A rich fat Danish ex-pat pumped with Viagra and a young pregnant petite Thai girl live together in near silence in a house full of soft toys, meanwhile a teenage mafia enforcer must deliver his own brother’s severed head. Sound intriguing? Well, it’s not.

Writer and Director, Thomas Clay’s third feature, Soi Cowboy, is billed as an “indie thriller” but can be more aptly described as a momentous bore and anticlimax after the reception of 2005's The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael. A promising black and white grainy opening, with the kind of picture-postcard cinematography you’d find in the Tate gallery's shop, sets viewers up for immense disappointment.

Depicting the monotony of daily chores in the mundane existence of the protagonists, Clay chooses to avoid dialogue and occasionally subtitles too, favouring lengthy static shots of a wordless breakfast scene and full camera pans – its over ten minutes into the running time before anyone speaks and even then it's hardly inspiring: “Fucking Thai Cunt”.

Little happens in the long, drawn-out and unnecessarily self-indulgent, Soi Cowboy. Through the dull fly-on-the-wall observance of Tobias and Koi's daily life together, it becomes clear that theirs is more of a convenient co-existence than a relationship, although both show limited affection for each other: “Sometimes he just makes me want to die.”

By cohabiting with Tobias, Koi is able to escape her previous life in the seedy bars of Bangkok’s Soi Cowboy while he lives in hope that she will succumb to his hidden charms and frankly grotesque open-doored showers.

The second shorter segment of the film comes to life in colour, the movement of a hand-held jerky cam and the promise of release as the ending clearly draws near. The “story” contrasts to the first half by focusing on the rural poor and Koi's brother who has been contracted to eliminate his own sibling. These country scenes act as a means of explaining Koi's humble beginnings and highlight the two opposing elements in Thai society.

The non-existent story and undeveloped characters do little to support the, at times, promisingly imaginative and artistic camera work. Pretentious shots of leaves are dragged out, but footage of the station, the temples of Ayutthaya and street life help to put the “characters” into context. Soi Cowboy is not even a stinker – it merely plods along, oblivious to the viewer’s need for some form of stimulation.

Nicholas Bro plays Tobias Christiansen, a film-maker in a nod to Clay's own life but throughout almost looks amused and unconvinced by the appalling film he is starring in. Pimwalee Thampanyasan is Koi, his child-like entertainment who shows her affection for him through close attention to his limited movements, while he buys her gifts. Still in the habit of doing whatever she can to survive, Koi is tempted to sell these presents. Her younger mafia brother makes few appearances until he calmly beheads his own kin. His role is significant in showing what little value life has, how easily threatened our existence is and the power money has over individuals.

Clay subverts the way Thai girls are viewed by “farangs” (foreigners) to reveal the way they themselves are categorised into different nationalities. The concluding sequence with Tobias decked out in a white suit and crocodile skin boots give him a vile slimy appearance, perhaps commenting on those who visit Bangkok with one thing in mind and how one small act can completely change our destinies.

A Cannes film festival selection and nominated for a Bronze Horse at the 2008 Stockholm film festival, Soi Cowboy straddles either side of a great divide.

Playing like a dreary unedited documentary, Soi Cowboy will either be appreciated for its artistic vision or loathed for its self-indulgent camera work and painfully long running-time.

Special Features:
The deleted scenes and out-takes are unsurprisingly very few, considering the apparent disregard for the need to edit the final feature.. What is surprising is that the content of the scenes be deemed unsuitable. Many of the discarded segments are much more revealing about Koi and Tobias' relationship than the film itself. Watching the trailer is also interesting - having battled through the complete feature, the trailer succeeds in making something irredeemably dull seem appealing. The Thai credits may be of interest to someone but as part of the “special” features? Not the most captivating viewing.

Director/ Writer: Thomas Clay
Release Date: April 26 2010
Running Time: 112 mins
Certificate: 15
Price: £15.99
No of discs: 1
Studio: Network Releasing
Starring: Nicolas Bro, Pimwalee Thampanyasan

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