Verdict

Raymond Ribay Gutierrez instantly throws the audience into the fray of a marriage that's in its last legs. There's not much a hint as to why the husband is trying to rein in his wife in such a brutish way in front of their only child. By the time the five-minute mark comes, the director ushers in a very unflattering and veristic law enforcement and criminal justice system procedural that is seldom depicted in Philippine cinema which has heavily relied on mawkishness to tell of such stories.

What is seen in the film is criminal justice system though very much modeled from the American judicial system, it is one that has instead opted to forego the adoption of the jury system, thus leaving the court judge to determine and to weigh the facts presented to him in cases and handing out decisions just like that of a domestic violence suit that was presented.

A downer of a film, especially with that ambiguous retching ending that is unparalleled in Philippine cinema history.

An alpha, this one.