One category where competition was tight was the contest for Best Supporting Actor that was eventually given to Ketchup Eusebio for Sa Aking Pagkakagising Mula sa Kamulatan. Up to the very end, however, Soliman Cruz remained a very strong contender.
As the petty thief-father in Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, he fleshes out the role so realistically you practically smell his breath while watching the movie. But his best moment in the film undoubtedly is the scene where he beats up his son (Neal Ryan Sese, who also delivers a wonderful acting job as the second son) for killing (unintentionally) a victim they originally just wanted to rob.
Next to Soliman Cruz, the Manunuri members also analyzed closely the performance of Ping Medina (as the eldest son) and it is solid from any angle. Aside from the scene where he goes berserk (when he discovers that his father had been killed) while locked up in jail, the Manunuri members also appreciate that entire sequence inside the parked jeepney where he comforts his broken-hearted gay brother Maximo.
But it was Ketchup Eusebio who was declared the Best Supporting Actor of the Year for playing a young neighborhood toughie in Sa Aking Pagkakagising Mula sa Kamulatan. Spewing out the lewdest and foulest language ever to be uttered in the gutters, he invests a lot of energy into the character and made it look like he comes from the deepest bowels of the metropolis. And yet, in contrast to this, we see another face of him that is totally different when he later meets the girl of his dreams and becomes meek and mild-mannered – tongue-tied even.
In the end, he brought home the trophy and beat the stage veteran Soliman Cruz, who also would have been a very acceptable winner, except that we only had to choose one.
In the race for Best Supporting Actress, Hilda Koronel (for Nasaan Ka Man) won almost unanimously for essaying the part of a spinster with a dark secret. It is a complex role and the veteran actress that Hilda is, she displays very effectively all the nuances contained in the character and is very consistent.
The other nominees – especially in this category – should also feel like winners with their nominations because it was tough getting into the finals and I particularly want to cite the performance of Gloria Diaz (who won the Urian for Batang West Side in 2001) as Hilda’s sister in Nasaan Ka Man and Joy Soler de Castro (a two-time Aliw Award winner) for Pepot Artista.
For Best Actor, how I wish John Arcilla (for Sa North Diversion Road) and Nor Domingo (for Big-time) also got nominated, except that the list of nominees (totaling to eight in the end) was already long and it had to be trimmed down somehow. The contest for lead actor was really that tough. Getting into the finals was already a feat.
When I saw, however, the performance of Robin Padilla in La Visa Loca in May of 2005 (during a Cinema Evaluation Board screening where it was graded A), I knew in my heart that this former Bad Boy of Philippine movies was finally bringing home his first Best Actor award. It was a difficult role that required him to do drama and even black comedy. But under the guidance of director Mark Meily – plus his maturity and development as an actor – Robin is able to deliver the finest performance of his career which certainly is Urian worthy.
For Best Actress, initially I thought it was going to be Ana Capri who would win the trophy for Ala Verde, Ala Pobre. Playing various characters after all is a tall order. But the talented actress that Ana is, she delivers an exceptional performance that is rarely seen on the local screen. Well, the third character – as the ruthless Chinese missus – was a bit weak and somehow that was a point against her. But overall, it was a spectacular acting job that she displays in the movie.
But then it seems that it’s not her fate yet to win an Urian (although she still has all the chances in the world – especially since she is a very gifted actress) and the award went to Jaclyn Jose for Sarung Banggi.
Jaclyn plays a very sensitive role in the movie – as an aging prostitute who without her knowing it has a one-night stand with a teenage son she gives away as an infant.
Actually, with the exception of some very minor characters (like the waiter and a customer who throws Jaclyn out of his car), it’s only the actress and her co-star (Angelo Ilagan playing her son) who make up the entire movie. But Jaclyn’s performance enthralls you – even in the parts where she only does narration and all you see are her facial reactions.
Her best scene is her breakdown –when she discovers that she just had sex with her own son and you don’t get the same perverse feeling you have watching the X-rated film about incest, Taboo. Instead you feel her shame, disgust and confusion that finally she has come face to face with her long-lost son, but under such repulsive circumstances.
Jaclyn has previously won four Urian trophies. With her fifth win, she affirms once more her status as one of the acting greats of Philippine movies.