iWant is a streaming application type of content platform exclusively available in the Philippines that is owned and operated by ABS-CBN. It offers TV, Movie, Audio, and Live content for registered viewers that they can stream anytime and anywhere on demand on any gadget. It used to be known as iWanTV when this service was first launched in 2010.
The film chosen for iWant's maiden salvo is one that immediately grabbed social media attention for the first time its provocative trailer was released on November 4, 2018. Views of the trailer alone approached the 20 M mark or probably more by now. The controversial subject matter of this Dreamscape Digital production had obviously sparked the interest across a broad segment of Filipino society.
Glory is a 50-year old former bank manager, who is beginning a pottery business. She has three adult children and an abusive husband (Allan Paule), with whom she is now estranged. One day, when shopping for a lamp, Glory met Niko, a driven, confident and persistent 22-year old salesman in that home decor store. From that day on, the lonely life of Glory was about to take off into whole new level of glorious she had never felt before.
We have seen May-December love affairs where the female was much older than the male portrayed on film before, but usually from Hollywood, in films like "Notes on a Scandal" (2006) and "The Reader" (2008). Among local films, there may not have been a lot. Only "Love Me Tomorrow" (2016) which starred Dawn Zulueta and Piolo Pascual comes to mind. That is why when the trailer of "Glorious" came out showing Angel Aquino engaged in very torrid kissing scenes with Tony Labrusca, the internet went crazy.
Angel Aquino is an ageless goddess. With an extraordinarily attractive face and figure like hers, she could drive any warm-blooded male (or maybe even female) wild with passion. Her character was written to be depressive and submissive to men, which made her seem very weak and vulnerable. I felt she could have delivered more acting-wise in separate confrontations with her daughter (Elora Espano) and Niko's grandmother (Erlinda Villalobos) but the dialogue in these scenes were not developed in Glory's favor. There could have been more challenging ways these conflicts could have gone which Angel could've met head on.
Tony Labrusca continues his daring streak of unconventional and controversial movies this, his debut year in feature films. He began with "ML" (about Martial Law), and followed it up with "Double Twisting Double Back" (about sex addiction). As Niko, he had to be convincing with his charismatic gift of gab and prodigious bedroom skills to complete the irresistible Adonis that swept Glory off her feet. While Labrusca had the physical requirements of the role down pat, he still felt rather wet behind the ears in his dramatic scenes with Angel. However, his promise as an actor and leading man is definitely on track.
Writer-director Connie Macatuno gave the film a feministic feel, to empower abused and neglected women to up and find their own happiness. The story by itself was a simple MMK-type personal drama, but ostensibly the steamy sex scenes were the biggest selling point of this film, comprising a significant percentage of its 1 hr 47 minute running time. These scenes were executed with slick camera work and editing for erotic effect, albeit sanitized for mainstream viewing. The ending though will surely provoke as much discussion as the trailers did. 6/10.
Hi Fred. I so wanted to like the movie but unfortunately, in the first 20 minutes, I already was looking at how long this movie was and when do I get to watch the steamy scenes. I watched it because the trailer looked promising and I knew Angel is a very good actress. Unfortunately, it lacked the rawness in the exchanges I was hoping for. It was “over-dialogued” if there’s such a term. Poor editing. Loved the role they gave to Angel’s son. The grandma was good too except for the last advise she gave to Niko. Poor scriptwriting. I do wish I can give them higher but to me it was 5/10 and that is because of the cinematography and ending.
ReplyDeleteI liked the indie feel of the web movie Glorious. It was steamy and hot. I wished there was more dialogues as well, but the point of the movie was their sexual compatibility more than anything else.
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