Top 10 Pinoy soap opera performances of 2014

MANILA, Philippines - There are three questions I would like to pose before I list down the most notable teleserye performances of 2014.  

 

First, is the teleserye supple enough as a genre — a Filipino television genre at that — to contain, to provide space to rear acting talent?  The teleserye as particularly modal — my way to critically describe its conventionality  — is also an acting space that easily invites public criticism for predictability and to a fault, hystericality.  We have yet to discuss the act, the performance of teleserye actors, having considered them only as stars, as spectacles of the show.  To my mind, Philippine popular culture has been ignoring teleserye acting for the most part because of its continuous malaise over the genre.  

 

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In any filmic event (and the teleserye is certainly one), I see acting as an employment of two things — subtlety and implication. This emphasizes my claim here about certain “schools” or “methods" of teleserye acting.  

 

The dominant school is still the one founded by Judy Ann Santos, teleserye royalty herself. Her trademark is flexibility, a vast acting repertoire, best handling the act by way of calculated and sophisticated surge. In Santos, the motivation is sustained, moving along the plot structure and multidimensionally rendering character from potential to fulfilment. 

 

Another school that might be described as a Santos precursor would be the one founded, so to speak, by Coney Reyes, a true master of subtlety, but whose acting is much lately undermined by her peripheral roles. Reyes’ acting has been reared by television from the days of Coney Reyes on Camera. She has proven to be a class act, enabled by an acting method that effectively exposes character psyches. 

 

The teleserye is, however, not only a female space, though the soap opera has generally been a feminine medium, a medium directed towards the female audience. Thus, the second question: where is the male in this particular acting space?  The previous examples may be suggestion enough of the teleserye’s capacity to become an acting medium, but where indeed, is the male?  The late great Dindo Fernando has certainly made a powerful crossover from film in the days of Flordeluna.  Who has followed his footsteps in providing nuanced performances? 

 

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The third question is a necessary one: for us to list down “notable” performances, do we have enough “canon”, so to speak, enough tradition to talk about? While I still have a lot of “wishes” to see in the teleserye, the fact that we can begin mustering representativity, can draw up names, already disproves the aforementioned partiality against the teleserye. Economically, the teleserye was one of the few ways for the filmic talent to survive, in these days of dearth in Philippine mainstream cinema, aside from “indie” films. In a manner of speaking, what holds true at this point is that acting that shows, instead of tells, is very present in our teleserye space.  

 

Like the notable teleseryes of 2014, the following teleserye performances deserve a review, a closer appreciation.

 

10. Jana Agoncillo’s Baby in Dream Dad

 

A most endearing figure in primetime today.  She acts naturally, and is definitely magnetic.   

 

 

9. Jodi Sta. Maria’s Maya in Be Careful with My Heart 

 

Sta. Maria ended her benchmarking soap well, leaving behind good memories of her performance as an innocent but go-getter probinsiyana who had fulfilled her dreams of flight. It’s interesting now that she’s been gifted a priced prize by her home network — the role of Amor Powers in the Pangako Sa ‘Yo Remake.  Totally a different realm, I say, but definitely exciting for this underrated one finally getting her well deserved breaks. 

 

 

8. Sharon Cuneta’s Elizabeth in Madam Chairman

 

Not bad for a first teleserye.  The Megastar has created a very relatable character here closely involved in various community issues while also struggling to compose herself as she deals with domestic ones. Is this Cuneta’s rehearsal for the next phase of her public career?     

 

7. Kathryn Bernardo’s Chichay in Got To Believe

 

Bernardo fully represents her generation here. In this rich-boy-poor-girl story, she emerges as a well developed, colorful character, embodying the gravitas of a breadwinner, and the free soul of a carnival gypsy. It seems she’s really learning.     

 

6. Alden Richard’s Yago in Carmela, Ang Pinakamagandang Babae sa Mundong Ibabaw

 

Richards is proving to be the next big thing, though for me, his best performance is still that suspense thriller, The Road.  In this soap opera, he plays the other half the star-crossed pair. He also remarkably performed in another soap this year, Ilustrado, where he played Jose Rizal. 

 

 

5. Dennis Trillo’s Ivan in Hiram na Alaala

 

Trillo clearly knows his material, and constantly pushes the envelope. He handles the theme of forgetting very well, and emerges as a more mature teleserye actor in this soap.   

 

4. Maricel Soriano’s Millet in Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real

 

Superb acting, very nuanced, and a good comeback for the Diamond Star.  The role fits her perfectly, since it may be seen as a crossover of her cinematic characters in Soltera and Ama, Ina, Anak. Maricel Soriano is canonical, and was herself reared in television.  Millet is her most interesting role so far in the teleserye genre.    

 

 

3. Jennylyn Mercado’s Rhodora, Roxanne, and Rowena, in Rhodora X

 

Certainly quite a stretch for this actress’ undertapped talent. Very bold shifts into different characters from time to time, but each employed individual distinctions, which is good. She now stands as one versatile actress after this teleserye.    

 

2. Jake Cuenca’s Franco in Ikaw Lamang  

 

It was a good decision for him to go to acting school, as he was already showing maturity in this character role. Very aggressive, very believable, and the best characterized in this feudal/political soap of epic proportions. He is angst personified.     

 

1. Maricar Reyes’ Sasha in Sana’y Bukas Pa ang Kahapon  

 

Very methodical study of her highly insecure character. She was able to show her placelessness as a woman in all fronts, and in different tones and tempos — with her ambitious mother, her husband who never loved her anyway, and her father.  Her tragic ending proved to be heroic.