Not only for Vilmanians

I’m writing this the day before In My Life opened in theaters nationwide yesterday and my bet is that it must now be a smashing box-office success — earning millions for Star Cinema. The movie is a guaranteed hit for the following reasons:

• Its publicity machinery left no stone unturned to drum up interest for the movie.

• Its trailer is very attractive and you don’t mind watching it over and over again.

• It is a major production that boasts of truly glossy scenes — with New York as the backdrop no less.

• It is a comeback movie for Vilma Santos and fans are dying to see her on the big screen once more after half a decade.

Aside from the reasons I mentioned above, let’s not forget that In My Life has an interesting premise — and casting. And so we see in the movie for the first time the mother and son tandem of Vilma Santos and Luis Manzano. In the story, Vilma is an American citizen (she was born in Hawaii, but was raised in the Philippines) who is separated from her husband (later shown as Tirso Cruz III) and is now also starting to lose her children who try to run away from her clutches because she could be stern and cold.

When one of her married daughters, Dimples Romana decides to migrate to Australia with her husband (Arnold Reyes) and kids, she jumps the gun on her by flying to New York to see her only son Luis — and to check out possibilities if she could stay there for good.

Adjusting to a new environment is never easy, especially for the character of Vilma who is so rooted in her job as a school librarian. In New York, we see her trying out new jobs (she keeps getting fired), meeting new people and getting used to the idea that her only son is living in with another man, played by John Lloyd Cruz.

While the early scenes are done in Manila, the rest of the film is staged in New York and the viewers will get to feast on what the Big Apple has to offer (actually, there’s a lot more they could have shown, but this is a drama, not a travelogue). Even the apartment shared by Luis and John Lloyd is neat and tidy and nicely decorated. Everything there is eye candy. And all the food shown is glorious: Mouth-watering dishes at home and famous New York sidewalk specialties like hotdogs and bagels (they missed out on the pretzels).

There are also a lot of scenes in the film that attempt to play to the gallery — some cute scenarios like Vilma dancing secretly in some school campus corner here in Manila and getting lost in the scary ghettos of Harlem and ending up with a hairstyle Fanny Serrano will never experiment on her.

Of course, there are also the dramatic moments that couldn’t be missed. In My Life is basically an acting duel between Vilma and John Lloyd. John Lloyd can now be hailed as the premiere leading man (specialty: heavy drama) in Philippine cinema today if only for the fact that he is able to match the immense talent of the legendary Star for All Seasons. He never blinks in any of their dramatic skirmishes. Even in scenes that are not staged to my satisfaction, he manages to get away with it through sheer brilliance in acting. Most of the time, he doesn’t speak, but you see in his eyes how much he loves Luis — and how frustrating it is to be sharing an apartment with his antagonistic mother!

Luis, though relegated to a shorter role, also has his impressive moments in the film. He is at his best in that scene where he breaks down in front of his mother — apologizing to her for disappointing her again, while pointing out what went wrong with their relationship. It is a difficult dramatic aria, but he finishes it without going overboard and delivers it in a heartfelt manner and Vilma should be proud of him.

As for Vilma, publicity write-ups have frequently quoted In My Life director Olivia Lamasan as saying that she “wanted a different Vilma Santos” in this movie. Well, she does get a different Vilma Santos, all right, but an unsympathetic one — at least in the beginning of the story. In contrast to her understated performance in Sister Stella L., Vilma goes over-the-top here. This is like her version of rival Nora Aunor’s Pacita M. And wasn’t that line a playful, but harmless shot at Aunor’s Andrea, Paano Ba Maging Isang Ina? when Vilma told her daughter Andrea (Dimples Romana): “Andrea, alam mo ba kung paano maging isang ina?” Or something that sounds like that.

Movie fans will surely be surprised at Vilma’s transition in this film and in due fairness to her, she gamely appears in the most unflattering of looks and attire. But while I admire her for taking in the challenge (a less secure actress wouldn’t agree to it), I honestly still prefer my standard Vilma Santos (but with a little derring-do here and there to give her room for further growth) and to my relief this happens eventually in the latter part when she no longer talks at the top of her lungs.

While I would encourage any artist to be more experimental (even somebody already as accomplished as Vilma), maybe it’s still best to exercise a little more caution. In the film, she is made to go a little over, but Vilma being Vilma recovers in time and delivers another sparkling performance, especially toward the end. To please the viewers even more, she gets to eventually appear as the stylish Vilma Santos (when her character gets adjusted in New York) — complete with a dance number her fans so missed because that is another one of her many talents and does it so well.  

Also to her credit, she gives her co-actors the chance to shine in the movie. Of course, with Luis, she would understandably allow her son to even eclipse her. But she is just as giving with John Lloyd. She provides him all the support he needs in their every scene and her presence there even enhances further John Lloyd’s performance. I’ve given Vilma all the acting plaudits in the past, but this time I’d like to underscore her being so selfless as an actress. She is truly a wonderful human being — that much she proves in this movie.

However, allow me to point out a couple of the film’s content that I’m not comfortable with. First is the casting of a girl who is pictured to be so in love with John Lloyd. I’m not getting into specifics anymore because that would even aggravate the matter, but maybe they should have gotten somebody unquestionably attractive, but portrays her as cloying and clingy and repulsive because of her ways.

Then there’s the matter of going around immigration rules. I’m bothered by that story development (which I can’t specify without giving away the ending) because we’re talking of laws here and the film is sending the wrong signals to the public. Also, that kind of twist leaves a bit of bad taste in the mouth.

But all in all, In My Life could be an engaging film and if you are a rabid Vilmanian who has made the habit of watching everything Vilma Santos does, this is one movie you have to see in your life.