Review: The Mistress

It’s another JL blockbuster. This guy’s charisma is waaaayy beyond imagination. Pair him with any girl and expect a blockbuster hit. He can make you kilig without any doubt. And he chooses his projects well. All beautifully written, wonderfully executed and definitely memorable. :) Yay! And to think he doesn’t need abs to make every girl swoon. He showed his man-boobs and bilbil in this film as well. And I honestly think he’s hot! Hihihi..

Now, enough of JL and on to the topic – THE MISTRESS. And by the way, I won’t promise that this is gonna be spoiler free. Consider yourself warned. :-P

The title is enough to make you think. To make you want to watch it. And the trailer. Oh my God! The trailer is wonderfully executed. That Hilda Koronel line, “Tagalog yan para maintindihan mo.” is soo attention grabbing. The moment I saw this, I remembered No Other Woman and A Love Story. I thought that this is another version of that “mistress” movie.

Who doesn’t want it right? Who’s not intrigued of the lives of the mistresses? The secret. The pain. Everything. But unlike the two, this movie shows an older rich man better known as the benefactor and his young beautiful mistress. That I tell you, is common. Though most of the time, the relationship is all about money. So hearing Bea say “Mahal ko sya.” on the trailer is another attention-grabbing scene. :) The teaser I must say is really a tease. Hahahaha

The story is all about a beautiful young lady master cutter who works in a small tailoring shop. She’s the typical bread winner who loves her lola (Anita Linda) so much. But the woman has a dark secret. She spends all her Thursdays with an old man who helped her when she needs money to save her lola’s life.

Unfortunately, the lady fell inlove with a young man. Who happens to be the old man’s son. Oh the story is full of twists and turns and everything. Because JL is actually not Ronaldo Valdez’ son here but a product of his mother’s one time affair. JL’s mother is portrayed by Hilda Koronel who I must tell you is awesome in this movie. The entire cast is wonderful actually. All are composed of magnificent actors and actresses.

Anita Linda is superb here. Oh well. She’s one woman who proves that age can’t stop you from doing what you love. She has aged with grace and exceptional talent. She seems to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease here because she acts like a child and most of the time thinks that she is in the classroom (she used to be a public school teacher). Telling everybody to stand in the corner. She reminds me so much of my lola. The scene where Bea is giving her a bath simply tugs my heart. She was acting all kid-like and she was such a darling. Now I miss Nanay. :(

Carmi Martin’s role as the mother may be small but whenever she was on the screen, I can’t help but cry. She left her family to the lola when she worked in France to be with her lover. The scene where she told Bea that her ex-boyfriend died in Laguna (they must have split up that’s why she returned to her family) is so heart breaking. Because you can see the pain on both mother and daughter’s eyes. Eh mukhang mas mahal pa nya yung kabit nya kesa sa tatay ni Bea dun na namatay nung 14yrs old si Bea. Oh diba?! Ang bigat ng story.

And the chubby kid who looked like the kid in Up and is K Brosas’ son is sooooo cute! :) His banat on Bea is so charming. He reminds me of my brother when he was young and claimed that he is head over heels in love with my bestfriend Michele who he fondly call “Lab”. :) All the ligaw scene of the kid is soo touching. Just the right amount of fun that was incorporated on such a heavy drama film. Very Pinoy. :) I love it.

And of course the power four. Ronaldo Valdez, Hilda Koronel, Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz. I mean, not enough words. They are awesome. I love that Bea’s acting has improved dramatically. Her facial expressions, her eyes – both are telling a lot without uttering a single word. Something that only great actors can do. She has honed her craft well and was able to prove that she is more than just a pretty face. In this film, I have accepted the fact that Bea Alonzo is an actress. :) Oh well, the other three are known for being the best in the industry. No arguments needed and no more further explanation required.

As for the storyline, I loved that it is wonderfully written. Dramatic but with a subtle hint of comedy. And the ending is just about right. I think that Bea falling in love with JL is the best thing that ever happened to the four of them.

That has become Ronaldo’s and Bea’s karma because both was hurt tremendously.

Ronaldo realized how much he actually loved his wife and was very much sorry for causing her all too much pain. He realized that he has married a wonderful woman who never left his side even after everything.

Hilda finally got what she always wanted – her husband’s love and forgiveness for her one mistake a long time ago, falling inlove with JL’s father.

This also closed the gap between father and son. JL realizing that his father (Ronaldo) actually loved him even if he is not his own.

But I love the karma part most. JL and Bea, though still so much in love, didn’t end up together. I like that. Because no matter what you say, a mistress doesn’t deserve happy endings.

I mean it! Adultery is on God’s 10 commandments. You don’t steel someone else’s husband or wife. In this film, all those who committed adultery suffered much. Carmi Martin, Ronaldo Valdez, Hilda Koronel and Bea Alonzo. And in all honesty, they deserve it.

I was very touched on the scene where Bea is crying on Carmi’s arms. And Carmi told her that she cannot judge her daughter because they are the same and then the lola came in. Bea says “Sari is a bad girl lola.”. To which lola replied “Accept your punishment apo. Stand in the corner.” See?!! Hear that?! Accept your punishment for being bad and stand in the corner you mistress!!!

Oh I’m sorry but I really have issues on this. I think marriage is sacred and you just cannot fool around. If a woman knew that the guy is married, then stay as far away from him as possible. Run if you must. Because you cannot hurt another woman. That is so so terrible. And telling yourself that it’s not your fault and you just fall in love is just plain stupid! Love is God. And God says that you should never commit adultery. Plain and simple. You don’t have the right to hurt other people that much. You don’t have the right to ruin a family. And most of all, you don’t have a heart if you let this things happen to you.

I don’t think I’ll ever get married honestly. But if I ever will, I am hoping that I would find someone who will love me and only me. And that if ever he fall for someone else, that someone else would respect me and my family by staying away from us.

I know some people. Some mistress themselves. I love some of them to the core but me loving them can’t stop me from telling them that what they are doing is wrong. And all I can do is cry and feel their pain and hug them while telling them to “stand in the corner”.

A mistress doesn’t deserve happy endings. They never will. Kaya habang maaga, wag mong gawing mang agaw ng asawa ng iba. At wag na wag mo sken sasabihing mahal mo kasi sya kaya ganun dahil sasampalin kita hanggang mamatay ka sa kakailag. Eh kung patayin kaya kita tapos sabihin kong kaya ko ginawa yun ay dahil mahal kita. Magiging tama ba yun? Excuse na ba ko?! Hindi di ba?! Ano yun joke?! At kung may asawa ka naman, utang na loob wag ka ng lumandi. Dahil ang kasal ay di isang malaking joke. Hindi lang yun pirmahan ng papel at photoshoot. It is a commitment. It is a promise. It is a start of creating a family. And families are sacred. Families are supposed to be nurtured and loved. Families are supposed to be respected and cared for. Do not ruin your family.

Halata bang affected ako? Oh well maybe because I already saw my mother cry buckets when my dad committed adultery. I don’t hate my dad. But I always remind him that he has 2 daughters and I hope that we won’t carry his karma. Because then, he’ll be sooo effing hurt. Well, I guess it worked. :-P I think my dad is a good boy na. Teehee! Though I hope that the mistress’ karma was already express delivered to their doorsteps. Hmp!

Go and watch it! It will surely make you cry. And those wives out there, you will surely rejoice on the scene where Ronaldo tell Hilda that if he ever get to live again, he’ll find her again and would make sure never to hurt her. :’( I know medyo late yung realization dahil malapit na syang ma-deads nun pero diba?! Tama si Mila nung sinabi nyang “mambabae man ang tatay nyo, balang araw sa akin padin ang uwi nyan dahil ako ang asawa”. Taray! :)