Hits and misses in new teleserye ‘Dahil sa Pag-ibig’

CHRISTOPHER de Leon and Sandy Andolong

Despite some flaws, “Dahil sa Pag-ibig” is shaping up as one of the more interesting new teleseryes this season.

The shifting focus was distracting at first, as its thematic design shuffled from the father’s ambition (played by Christopher de Leon) to the forbidden love between his adoptive son, a seminarian (Piolo Pascual), and his stepsister (Cristine Reyes).

The radical shift from the spiritual to the carnal in a sense betrayed the series’ original thrust, and the show became the poorer for it.

Around March 27, however, the storyline started coalescing once more, as the father’s political rival (Bing Davao) “arranged” a car crash that killed Sandy Andolong’s character and put Cristine Reyes’ life in grave danger. Ironically, this happened when Christopher and Piolo were at the Vatican to pray for guidance in Piolo’s decision to give up his desire for Cristine.

The accident revived the series’ original “need, creed and greed” substance in a striking way, as it put the passionate Piolo on the defensive. The last episode showed him pleading with God to save Cristine—for which divine favor he promised to resume his studies for the priesthood and give up his love for her!

That strong dramatic denouement wrapped up that particular chapter in the series’ storytelling, and the original theme was back in full play again.

On point of performance, the recently concluded chapter also gave some of the actors in the cast a strong showcase for their thespian chops.

Christopher in top form

The biggest beneficiary was Christopher, because his character had the most heart-wrenching scenes to enact: The discovery that his daughter and his adoptive son were crazily, carnally in love with each other; that Piolo was giving up his religious vocation for Cristine; the death of his wife; the fact that his only daughter was in a coma, the realization that his political rival was determined to do anything and everything to defeat him—etc!

CRISTINE Reyes and Piolo Pascual in “Dahil sa Pag-ibig”

To his credit, the veteran star was able to “hit” all those thespian high points—no mean feat for any actor. Except for some disturbing acting mannerisms, de Leon’s portrayal of his character was memorable.

These mannerisms included too much “vocal acting” instead of a totally felt portrayal, and occasional melodramatic flourishes done for extra swell, surge and effect. These flaws were minimal, however, as the actor more than measured up to the task at hand.

Piolo disappoints

But Piolo was a different story as he chose to underplay his portrayal of his character during a difficult time in the story’s frame. There may be something to be said for underplaying, especially on the intimate TV screen, but it shouldn’t be done at the expense of strong emotional commitment and vivid thespian insight.

In Piolo’s case, he chose to err on the side of caution with his lack of emotional commitment, so his performance was often found wanting.

As the story fleshes out and deepens in its outlook, Piolo must rise to the challenge and sink his teeth into the role, so that the interaction between him and Christopher is not weakened in its characterization and the series can benefit from both their performances.