‘NANAHIMIK ANG GABI’ seems like a home invasion thriller on the surface but it actually has many layers that viewers can talk about after watching the movie.
Writer-director Shugo Praico’s script poses a lot of twists and questions in the narrative that viewers can discuss long after the credits have ended. As one character warns: don’t believe everything that you see.
And it’s so true, as the plot points that you think are so obvious can be quite deceiving. The film springs a lot of surprises that will prove to be quite shocking.
We will try to avoid sharing much about how the story goes to avoid spoilers, so if you intend to watch the movie, better stop reading this review.
The movie starts with Me-ann (Heaven Peralejo) arriving at a remote mansion for an assignation with her lover who she just calls Chief (Ian Veneracion.)
The place is huge and it takes sometime before she gets to finally locate where Chief is.
We gather that Chief is the sugar daddy of Me-Ann who asks him to get a separate condo unit for her so she can leave her older sister who reprimands her for having an affair with a married man.
But what is meant to be a romantic night of lovemaking turns into a nightmare when an intruder gets inside the house (Mon Confiado) and starts beating them up.
This is as far as we’ll go. Of course, at the start we sympathize with Me-Ann and Chief as they are presented to be the main protagonists.
But as the film, which may be classified as a mystery-thriller, moves along, our loyalties will be jarred.
All parties have their own story to tell and it is up to the viewer to examine which one to believe.
You will eventually find that your loyalties are shifting from one character to another.
This is not a simple good guy versus bad guy conflict. You start to question as who is really the villain and who is the hero, making the story even more compelling.
The ending shows one character facing a dilemma as to which is more significant: siding with a bad guy to insure one’s safety or fighting it out to do what is right.
Many scenes generate a lot of suspense and excitement. This is one movie that is difficult to predict where things are going.
The film is very well acted by the three major characters.
Mon Confiado starts as the contravida but he will eventually get your sympathy. We won’t be surprised if he’d win another best supporting actor role for his performance here.
Ian Veneracion is also superb as Chief, whose character starts as the hero but soon, you’d find yourself asking if he’s really a cop like he claims to be.
What exactly are the secrets that he is hiding?
We’ve never seen Ian like this before and he acquits himself very well in this pivotal role.
But the movie belongs primarily to Heaven Peralejo, who is a revelation in her portrayal of a young mistress who will be facing serious and valid moral dilemmas in the course of one night.
Heaven shines in many scenes as the imperfect heroine.
As Mea-ann, she may have her character flaws, making her a three-dimensional character, as amplified by her back story on how she meets Chief.
The additional information we learn about her helps in increasing the tension and the stakes of the story as she gets to face many physical challenges when she is put in harm’s way and has to wriggle her way out to survive.
She’ll definitely vie for the Metro Filmfest best actress award for her nerve-wracking performance.
The film is generally well crafted with above average technical aspects. The action scenes are credibly conceived and executed.
Director Shugo Praico is known mainly for mini-series like “Bagman”, “Betcin” and “Secrets of a Nympho”. He now establishes himself as a filmmaker to reckon with in “Nanahimik ang Gabi”.
