On the Job (2013)

Directed by: Erik Matti
Country: Philippines

Movie Review: Filipino crime thriller “On the Job” can be seen as an unrestrained exposure of crooked politics, corrupt police, and the underworld of narcotrafficking. Inspired on true events, Erik Matti’s 14th feature film centers on two inmates, the veteran Tang (Joel Torre) and the young and inexperienced Daniel (Gerald Anderson), who occasionally get out from the prison to work as carriers or hitmen for Madame Thelma and her criminal organization. In parallel and in an opposite front, we can follow the determined officers Acosta (Joey Marquez) and Frans (Piolo Pascual), a newcomer whose honesty will impel him to fight anyone, including his own family. Here we can take a good look into marginal Filipino society and even learn and understand a few things about the interveners’ mentality. As exemplification, we are shown that to kill someone targeted has to be considered merely work and never personal; or that crowded places can be perfect for some executions. Both plot and characters are a bit entangled, and some scenes sporadically relegate the film to commonplaces, but “On the Job” offers us a vivid characterization of a country’s system that operates in dark alleys, confined corridors, and other claustrophobic scenarios where we can almost feel the pestilent air of crime and death. Matti was able to create intensity and none situation seemed out of reality or uncontrolled. Despite the good critical responses, the film was a commercial flop, both locally and outside doors.