Director: Erik Matti
MPAA Rating: NR
Film Pulse Score: 7/10
Based on the real life scandal that rocked the Philippines, Erik Matti’s On The Job weaves a story of intrigue, corruption, and murder, in a story about prison inmates hired to carry out contract kills on high profile individuals. With some great visuals and a suspenseful, action-filled plot, this film stands above the rest of the more generic action thrillers hitting cinemas as of late.
On The Job follows two inmates, Mario and Daniel, as they live their lives as prisoners and hitmen. Mario, played by Joel Torre, is about to be paroled, and in turn, retired from the job. He must train the new blood, Daniel, played by Gerald Anderson, and show him what it takes to be a killer.
As the bodies start piling up and a pattern begins to emerge, a rookie government agent named Francis (Piolo Pascual) takes over the case and begins getting closer to the truth. Unfortunately, the truth leads him to some very high-ranking political figures, including his father in law, and the president himself.
The film plays out like a standard police procedural, with the narrative jumping back and forth between the police and the hitmen as their paths inch closer to one another. Though the action is sparse, there are a few tense shootouts, and plenty of violence to keep casual viewers glued to the screen.
Like most Filipino movies, the cinematography doesn’t do the country any favors in boosting tourism. Everything about the film is ugly in the best kind of way. The prison is over-crowded, dark, grimy, and every bit as unpleasant as one would expect. It’s not just the prison that looks rough though; every setting in the film, including a hospital, looks dilapidated and run down.
These areas are accentuated by a color palette that ranges from grey, to black, to a dark shade of grey. This all worked in the film’s favor, however, providing an extremely well shot, gritty cop thriller.
There are a number of twists and surprises throughout the two-hour run-time as well, with plenty of unexpected turns and betrayals. Although the plot is complex, with many characters, all with rich back-stories and interwoven lives, everything becomes at least somewhat clear by the climax.
While the conclusion wasn’t a satisfying as I had hoped, Matti stayed away from a typical Hollywood ending, and instead gave us something much more real, and bleak.
On The Job is a solid thriller based on an unbelievable and fascinating premise. With a rich story and a deep cast of characters, this is not one to be missed. Plus, it reaffirms that as corrupt as you might think the US government is, at least they aren’t releasing prisoners to carry out hits…that we know of.
