Director: Ben Rekhi
Writer: Ben Rekhi, Rona Lean Sales (Screenplay)
Starring: Arthur Acuna, Alessandra De Rossi, Jack Macapagal
Plot: After her husband is mysteriously killed in the drug wars of the Philippines, a widowed mother of three must confront her own darkness to protect her children from further harm.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Hard Hitting
Story: Watch List starts as we meet a Filipino family father Hector and mother Maria (Rossi) along with their three kids, surrounding to a police state, trying to help the families stay clean, they have left the criminal world behind, with Hector looking to work hard for him family, only he gets mysterious murdered.
Maria must first deal with the grief of losing her husband, before needing to find a way to secure money for her children, this sees her needing to turn to the dangerous underground of drugs, as this is left to be her only option to keep her family safe, but with the reward, comes the risk she must take.
Thoughts on Watch List
Characters – Maria is left in a position where he needs to feed her children after her husband is murdered, she must turn to the people from a former life for help, taking her to a life of crime, one that will see her needing to learn to kill, something isn’t willing to do. She has no choice as it is the only way she can make money, but it left torn between the two lives. We do get to meet Maria’s kids wo are being swung towards the criminal life, the people who offer Maria a chance to make money for her family.
Performances – Alessandra de Rossi in the leading role is excellent, she does show us the pain she is going through to get through her future with her kids, she shows us that it is them or no one. The rest of the cast is strong who letting Rossi shine through in the leading role.
Story – The story here follows a mother left in a difficult position after her husband is murdered and she needs to find a way to support her three children. We are shown how desperate people will become when it comes to their family, how the life of crime might well be the only option available, we see how this world would operate and just how dangerous it will be, with dangers come from within it or from the people trying to stop it. It highlights how people could become causalities in the battle for power.
Crime/Thriller – This film does show us the reality of the criminal world in the Philippines that gives people little chance to live an honest life with both sides of the world.
Settings – The film takes us to the tight streets where everyone lives, showing us how the criminals and honest people can live hand in hand, as long as they don’t get in each other’s way.
Scene of the Movie – The training.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The lack of police action.
Final Thoughts – This is a hard hitting drama that shows the struggles one mother would have to experience to make it through after losing her husband. Alessandra de Rossi is fantastic in the leading role.
Overall: Alessandra de Rossi is fantastic.
