By DISCLAIMER: A few spoilers ahead.
As soon as I learned that award-winning actresses Kathryn Bernardo and Dolly de Leon would be collaborating on a film, I made sure that I’m going to watch it. It’s no secret that I enjoy seeing KathNiel in movie or television projects together, and I’m also interested in seeing them in projects apart from their love team. So, having viewed the trailer for A Very Good Girl, I was already aware that the film will not be your typical mother-daughter storyline, but will be something else, something more out of the box.
Mercy Novela, the character Kathryn plays, is an underdog who was fired coldly by villainous Mother Mall CEO, Molly Suzara played by Dolly de Leon. After unsuccessful search for new employment, Mercy’s mother, played by Angel Aquino, decided to drag herself to beg Molly a.k.a. Mother for Mercy’s job back, but things didn’t go as planned. And things did go south from there, which is what inspired Mercy to plot her revenge on Molly, using the people in her inner circle to bring her down. Mercy then had to change her image and transformed herself into this pseudo socialite named Philo.
The first bits were promising. The film’s campiness and witty remarks, largely delivered by Philo, served as ice breakers, breaking the serious tone of several sequences. They were all such pleasant surprises that made me laugh while also keeping the movie interesting. I was invested in the fact that this story would continue, scheme after scheme they would break down all their targets until Mother Molly had no one. They did do that, but not in the way I expected, which left me a little dissatisfied. I know it’s terrible to compare one film to another, but I was thinking that how they (Philo and best friend Karen played by Donna Cariaga ) would carry out their plan would be oddly akin to how the females in Ocean’s 8 did it, outwitting everyone and carrying out their schemes right under everyone’s noses. Characters introduced, most of them were left with no conclusions: the face of Mother Mall (Chie Filomeno) who happens to also be a mistress of one of Mother Mall’s investors, the meek assistant (Gillian Vicencio) being molested by the right-hand man (Jake Ejercito) of Mother Molly, the conniving half-sister (Kaori Oinuma), the only person who had a somewhat graceful and no explanation needed exit would be Ana Abad Santos’ character. The flashback shift was also really jarring for me; at one point, I was convinced that Angel Aquino’s character had died of a heart attack, only to learn later that wasn’t the case. The transition was so unpleasant and unexpected that it caused me to temporarily lose focus, and I promise I was paying attention the whole time!
A few minutes into the film, it will be clear that a revenge plot is in the works. It shouldn’t come as a surprise given that the plot focuses around that concept. But the issue that this film will leave its audience with is whether Philo will get her vindication. Will she ever receive justice? Personally, I believe she did, but not entirely. For what has she sacrificed and wasted everything she has? ONLY FOR THAT? That will be the carrot to a horse that will be dangling in front of moviegoers. Again, I’m a fan of Kathryn’s acting; I’ve seen how she improves with each project, and this is by far the best I’ve seen her (the last time I saw her was in the series 2 Good 2 Be True, which I watched from beginning to end). You know how they say, “Ibang *insert name*, ang mapapanuod nyo sa pelikulang ito”? “Ibang Kathryn ang mapapanuod nyo sa pelikulang ito,” indeed she was a match for Dolly de Leon’s acting chops in this film, being lively, sassy, and bold. Overall, it’s a good film to watch. Problematic? Sure. Fresh? Yes.
A Very Good Girl (Star Cinema)
Director: Peterson Vargas
Cast
Kathryn Bernardo
Dolly de Leon
Donna Cariaga
Chie Filomeno
Jake Ejercito
Angel Aquino
Ana Abad Santos
Gillian Vicencio
Kaori Oinuma
Kakki Teodoro
Denise J. Mallabo 