On The Job

It's hard to take a shit in the street. Just kidding.

I'd heard the buzz surrounding this film during its run in Cannes and I was immediately intrigued. After seeing the film, I'm glad to say the words of praise were well deserved: On The Job is one of the most remarkable Filipino films of recent times.

Joel Torre is Tatang, an inmate who is tasked to perform assassinations outside of prison thanks to a network of corruption. Accompanying him is Daniel (Gerald Anderson), his fellow inmate, assistant and protege. In between missions, they live double lives, with Tatang going home to his cheating wife (Angel Aquino) and his law student daughter (Empress Schuck).

Meanwhile, NBI agent Francis Coronel (Piolo Pascual) takes over the case relating to the recent string of assassinations committed by these two men. The policeman in charge of the case, straight and narrow SPO1 Acosta (Joey Marquez) doesn't want to let go of the case quite yet, so he joins the investigator in revealing the case. But as Francis realizes as he unravels the complex web of corruption, he may be involved in that web more closely than he thinks.

On The Job takes several noir themes and blends them together to create something that works really well in the Philippine setting. There is no black and white here, only shades of gray. The contract killers do their job to provide for their families; the policemen are supported by a rotting system that erodes their morality. An overwhelming sense of nihilism pervades the film, where the choice to do right stands against the weight of how the world works - while the four main characters try to do the right thing, the path to righteousness involves wading through deep shit.

Visually, the film uses dark tones and the claustrophobic alleys of urban poor Manila to create tension. The soundtrack, pulsing and beating, really fits the film well.

The cast is really good, and most of the acting kudos has to go to Joel Torre, who is The Man. From start to finish he completely envelops himself in the role, a world weary man who has done all that he can, even sacrifice his very soul to survive. Now faced with a chance to be free, he faces a choice between his life of killing and an uncertain, but (presumably) morally straight future. Gerald Anderson, being the matinee idol kind of actor, is cast against type and doesn't look the part, but he does the best he can with the role, and kudos to him for the effort.

Piolo Pascual came off as unlikeable at the start, but I warmed up to his character as the movie went on. As for Joey Marquez, had his role been played straight and serious, this movie would have been really dark. Whether that's a good thing or not is a subjective matter.

The local theatrical edition of this movie includes a number of sex scenes, but they come off as a bit unnecessary and they ultimately seem like a ploy to get more viewers in. Either way, the scenes did not add to or detract from my overall experience watching the film. If you're itching for a really good crime thriller, I heartily recommend On the Job.