SWAP

Before anything else, let me share to you that this is the first 2015 film I've seen. Yes, I missed a couple of movies in the past months because I was catching up on a lot of films from the previous year. But now I’m back, expect more and faster reviews. Let’s do this!

A kidnapped kid, some corrupt but competent cops and a weak yet slightly suspicious protagonist. The premise is very comparable to Ron Morales’ Graceland. But what it exceeds from the latter is its technique in narrating a story. This is also my first Remton Zuasola film. I have no idea about his style before I watched this and he impressed the shit out of me. However, there were some long and realistically boring conversations that made me yawn. I fell asleep early in the movie, where three ladies are talking about a lot of things that aren’t relevant to the story. Luckily, I woke up in the same scene. Its musical score multiplies the intensity of every scene.

The movie’s packed with strong performances from Matt Daclan (Tonyo) and Mon Confiado. Their back-to-back conversations are thrilling.  Dionne Monsanto (Insiang) was in great control of her emotions even if she was underused. Everyone’s good, from RK Bagatsing to the other members of the tactical team and kidnap-for-swap group. The twist was predictable but I appreciate its valiant effort to convey its message. The poster is kind of a spoiler, though.

Swap gets more striking as it embraces its deviance from traditional filmmaking and corrupt administration, but the real moneymaker was the explosive last act.

ALL GOOD 3.5/5

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