Review of On the Job (2013) by Ed C — 02 May 2014

One line summary: Trying to bring down corruption has all sorts of personal consequences.

--------------.

Set in the modern day Philippines. The film describes interactions among prisoners, crime families, police, police leaders, and politicians.

Tatang and Daniel get releases (under the radar) recurrently from prison in order to carry out assassinations. Tatang's parole has been approved, and he hopes to pass the torch to Daniel after Tatang leaves prison. Daniel clearly is not ready, but it is hoped he will learn quickly on the job.

At the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), Francis takes on new responsibilities. He is both blessed and cursed by the shadow of his father's accomplishments, such as they were. One of his main jobs is to keep secret the traces of the assassinations. Francis is mob-connected, as it turns out, since his significant other is the daughter of a crime boss.

As one might expect, this network of relationships, held together by blackmail and corruption, is doomed to break. One of Francis' potential witnesses in his corruption investigation gets targeted for assassination.

Looks like the house of cards could all fall down. Which group gets the most damage?

Tatang, Daniel, and Francis all have personal lives that they conduct through all of this. Will they keep their relationships together?

-----Scores-----.

Cinematography: 9/10 Well shot; looks good consistently.

Sound: 10/10 The actors are adequately miked, and the music was wonderful.

Acting: 8/10 Joel Torre was wonderful as Tatang. Joey Marquez, Gerald Anderson, Piolo Pascual, and Vivian Velez were all good in their roles.

Screenplay: 7/10 The film did good story telling here, with a lot of texture, and just enough threads to follow. Almost two hours was not too long at all.