The fine performances of 2002

(Second of four parts)

In my last column, I came up with my personal list of outstanding performances in the Supporting Actor category. Below is my list of actresses who excelled last year in secondary roles. Again, since this is just a personal list, the names here are not necessarily the same as those who made it to the Urian finals (to be held May 17 at the AFP Theater).

Irma Adlawan – This product of the world of theater was marvelous as the mother of Ina Raymundo in Jeffrey Jeturian’s Tuhog in 2000. In Gil Portes’ Munting Tinig , she is such as delight to watch as the English teacher who tells her pupils that the plural form of tomato is tomatos.

Kris Aquino – Considering that she had been maligned mercilessly in the acting department from the very start of her career, no one ever thought she’d finally win an acting award. Mano Po, however, changed that. As Juliet Go in the movie, she is really convincing playing the submissive wife (to Eric Quizon), an obedient daughter (to Triso Cruz III and Gina Alajar) and a caring sister (to Ara Mina) all rolled into one.

Actually, that was not the first time Kris Aquino gave an impressive performance in a film. In Fatima Buen, she did very well, and, in fact, earned a Best Actress nomination in the 1995 Gawad Urian. It’s just too bad very few people saw that film and are aware that even that early, Kris was already capable of fine acting – especially when handled and motivated well by her director (in that instance, Mario O’Hara).

Amy Austria – She is one actress who gives a fine performance in all her films year after year. She was already impressive even in her early films – in Jaguar for which she won Best Supporting Actress in the Gawad Urian and in Brutal, which earned for her a couple of Best Actress awards.

In the Metro Manila Film Festival last December, she turned in another fine performance as the favorite and sympathetic aunt of Ara Mina in Mano Po. Amy was simply wonderful in the scenes where she was searching for her husband (Allan Paule) who was supposed to have gone underground. When she finally finds him – sharing a home with another woman – she tries not to break down, but you can feel how crushed her heart is deep inside.

Malou Crisologo – As part of the Munting Tinig acting ensemble, she is very effective as the elementary school teacher who makes her pupils do house chores for her. Although she isn’t really a bad person in the film, she is still the type who would take advantage of her position – and this she projects convincingly in Munting Tinig.

Dexter Doria – Even in small roles, Dexter Doria leaves her mark in every character she plays on the big screen. A fine example is her scene in Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Moral where – as the second wife of Ernie Garcia (a college professor in the story), she amicably confronts the mistress, Sandy Andolong. It’s a long drawn-out scene, but her fine performance (and that of Andolong’s) made that entire sequence quite memorable.

In Munting Tinig, she is remarkable as the principal who sells ice candies to the pupils. In the story, she pretends to be cold and strict to everyone in school when in truth, she is really a caring person. It’s a complex character, but the veteran actress that she is, Dexter easily breezes through the film with hardly any effort.

Liza Lorena – Introduced as an ingénue in Dahil sa Isang Bulaklak (after winning first runner-up in the 1966 Binibining Pilipinas contest), Liza easily metamorphosed into an outstanding actress. But official recognition of her talent didn’t come until the first Film Academy of the Philippines awards in 1983 – when she was voted Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Oro, Plata, Mata. Three years later, she won in the same category in the Gawad Urian for Miguelito: Ang Batang Rebelde.

Unfortunately, she disappeared from the movie scene for many years, but staged a brilliant comeback as the blind mother of Rosanna Roces in La Vida Rosa for which she won an Urian nomination.

Last year, she gave another one of her inspired performances in Kailangan Kita. No, the role didn’t call for theatrics. It was a simple part, but became memorable just the same given the Liza Lorena touch.

Madeleine Nicolas – An Urian nominee for the 1999 Jose Javier Reyes thriller Luksong Tinik – as a Chinese businesswoman involved in shady deals – Nicolas last year gave another fine performance in another Joey Reyes movie, the remake of Paraisong Parisukat. In this film, she plays a totally different character – that of a shoe store sales clerk obsessed with movie stars. But as in Luksong Tinik, Madeleine Nicolas also does remarkably well in Paraisong Parisukat.

Judy Ann Santos – A veteran of soap operas from way back since she was a kid, Judy Ann Santos was really bound to succeed as a fine actress – what with all the training she got from all those TV shows. Judy Ann, however, has yet to be officially recognized as an award-winning actress by winning her first acting trophy. Her best so far is Magkapatid, where she excels in all her dramatic scenes. Her acting in this film – even in those heavy scenes – is quite restrained, but very effective.

In the near future, I won’t be surprised if she becomes as seasoned as Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos – or maybe even better.

Raquel Villavencencio – She entered the movie scene initially as a production designer (Himala was among her noteworthy works in this department). Later, she also tried screenwriting and won two Gawad Urian trophies – first for Batch ’81 (in collaboration with Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. and Mike de Leon) and, later, for Ikaw Pa Lang ang Minahal.

This year, she is back in the race – as an actress this time – for her performance as a madam in a prostitution den in the movie Prosti. Next time she’s back in competition – who knows? – she may already vie for best director. That’s not a far-fetched possibility. After all, Raquel obviously excels in everything she does.

(Next: My list of actors who excelled last year in lead roles.)