I was supposed to write about In My Life last week, but Typhoon Ondoy came and shook things up. I wouldn’t say that things are back to normal now—far from it, in fact, so keep the donations coming—but this morning, I woke up to bright sunshine and I decided to get this piece out before it’s way too late.
Incidentally, over the weekend, when Typhoon Pepeng miraculously spared Metro Manila, the girls in my family tried to convince the boys to watch In My Life. No such luck. They thought it was a Brokeback Mountain type of film and their macho asses dragged us to watch Bruce Willis instead.
It was a pity, of course, because, while the romance between the characters of Luis Manzano and John Lloyd Cruz holds the story together, In My Life is really Vilma Santos’ movie. To miss it is to miss Vilma in her most delightful role in recent years. In fact, I watched it a week ago, and I can still hear the Vilmanians screaming. Heck, I think I even became a Vilmanian myself.
Directed by Olivia Lamasan, In My Life offers a number of new things for the typical movie fan. There’s an emotionally touching story of a woman who is her own victim. Shirley (Vilma) is an ageing school librarian who had had to raise three children by herself after her husband left her. By all appearances, Shirley has done a successful job, but her having “shut down” to remain intact after the major emotional upheaval has alienated her from her own children and other people as well. From this profile, you’d expect a typical dramatic film, with Shirley being tortured by the husband’s new wife or something. But no. Shirley is actually a victim of her own self—one who is well on her way to self-destructing. This makes her liberation more meaningful and more inspiring.
Then, there’s a gay romance that is presented as beautifully ordinary—if you take away the illegal alien in America angle, that is. By all measures, Mark (Luis) and Noel (John Lloyd) are just like any couple in love. Noel is a devoted lover, who does everything to make sure his boyfriend is happy—even to the extent of entertaining Mark’s clingy, demanding, and selfish mother when she moves in with them, unannounced, from the Philippines.
Finally, there’s that one very emotionally charged moment in the film, where the typical Filipino value of unconditional respect for elders and the “api” complex gets thrown out the window. Finally fed up with Shirley’s antics, Noel explodes and talks back at her. And how!
John Lloyd considers In My Life a landmark in his career and I’d have to agree. He did an excellent job in his most recent light drama films, but in this one, he has proven he can now hold his own ground beside one of the biggest stars in the industry. My fearless forecast is that he’s going to get an award for his performance in this film. I have a strong feeling Vilma is going to get one too.
Speaking of awards, I’d like to give one to Dimples Romana, who plays one of Shirley’s daughters who also has issues with her mother. In the film, Dimples successfully proves that she is an actress that may not be treading the path of the country’s top young stars, but is nevertheless headed to the top of the heap.
Owing to its box office success, In My Life is still being shown in many theaters. Catch it while you can. At the worst, you get to see a side of Vilma that hasn’t been seen in ages (there is a delicious dance number!). At the best, you get to see a film that serves up something new for the hungry fans of Filipino pop cinema.
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