The artistic touches in Tyrone Acierto's Watch Me Kill are felt from the very start: the artifacts meant to make the movie look like it was shot on film, the dazzling array of wide, atmospheric shots, the deliberately slow pace. It all contributes to a solid noir aesthetic, one that feels unique in the landscape of contemporary Philippine cinema.
The hired killer at the center of the story, Luciana (Jean Garcia) is an enigma at the start: she's a cold blooded and efficient killer who never fails to kill her target. This has led to various criminal bosses like Franco (Jay Manalo) to try to recruit her into his ranks, but Luciana is a lone wolf. When an assassination goes awry (to those who get the reference, it's like a Red Dead Redemption 2 free roam gone terribly wrong) Luciana comes across a girl (Junyka Santarin) who she spares, taking the girl under her wing.
From this point on, here's where things go a bit downhill. Although it's a character study, the film doesn't really have much more to say about Luciana's character other than the fact that her innocence was lost way too early. Her desire to live a life of normalcy keeps slinking back into her old ways, as she tries to take what she wants by force. But what was her life before that? Why was she chosen? Why did she eventually embrace the life of killing? There's a twist in this film, but it's telegraphed way too obviously. The ending leaves us with more questions. What exactly does Luciana want to be? A mother? A daughter? Or just someone without shackles?
Perhaps that's what the film tried to do at the end: make audiences wonder and talk about what the hell was going on, but one's mileage and patience may vary.
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