John Lloyd Cruz shaves his head in “Honor Thy Father.”
Mainstream movies like “A Second Chance” keep John Lloyd Cruz en vogue and “trendingly” relevant in the eyes of the masa. But it’s films like Erik Matti and Michiko Yamamoto’s “Honor Thy Father” and Lav Diaz’s upcoming historical mind-bender, “Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis,” that allow the 32-year-old actor to courageously step out of his comfort zone—and let his followers see him in a different light!
Matti and Yamamoto’s unsettling cautionary drama, a last-minute entry in the Metro Manila Film Festival’s main category (which begins its two-week run today), has its share of meandering moments, but it allows Cruz to break free from the confining shackles of rom-coms and predictable relationship dramas that have helped turn him into a household name. Moreover, it provides enough thespic meat for the adventurous performer in John Lloyd to chew on:
The actor portrays Edgar, a laid-back family man who is forced to revisit his sketchy past when his go-getting wife Kaye’s (Meryll Soriano) investment scheme goes belly up—and puts the lives of his loved ones on the line!
It doesn’t take long for Edgar and Kaye to realize that Bishop Tony (Tirso Cruz III, as repulsive as he is charismatic), the Bible-quoting leader of the religious group they belong to, isn’t the sympathetic mentor-friend they thought he was.
Twisted turn
Things take a turn for the twisted when Kaye and their daughter, Angel (Krystal Brimner), are abducted, one after the other, by their avaricious former colleagues (Yayo Aguila, Lander Vera-Perez) who want more than what Edgar’s family owes them! What to do?
Edgar’s layered relationships with the film’s dense dramatis personae help John Lloyd’s character unravel his disturbing “transition”—from subservient husband to proactive patriarch, who will do anything to make the wrong things right!
To avoid spoiling the moviegoing fun for you, we won’t discuss the details of the run-up to the production’s gut-wrenching finale.
Suffice it to say that, unlike most of John Lloyd’s fan-pandering, “fantasticating” and fun-generating potboilers, the protagonists of “Honor” go through the wringer for their (ehem) second chance at Happily Ever After.
Undeniably powerful
The film is marred by a slow pace halfway through the exposition, but its homestretch is undeniably powerful. John Lloyd skillfully juggles his character’s continually evolving relationships with the people around him—from his unreliable former friends, to the family he wanted his wife and daughter to forget about.
Matti zeroes in on the immediacy of Edgar’s woes as he examines the hypocrisy of religious fanaticism. He holds the film in perfect stasis between drama and horror, conveyed in urgent sequences that bristle with edge-of-your-seat tension and “relatable” theatricality.
As the film’s conflict escalates, so does John Lloyd’s commitment to his thespic “vanishing act.” Helping him pace the movie’s supporting cast is the always reliable Meryll who, despite her character’s dire situation, refuses to get stuck in the dark tale’s ponderous schmaltz.
Turning in two of the most textured portrayals this year, John Lloyd and Meryll are wise enough not to succumb to cheap dramatic titillation:
They just wear their hearts on their sleeve as they hope for the best—and pray for redemption!