A Second Chance ~ Film Review

by: Uel Ceballos

I was one of those who got hooked in the “One More Chance” film that starred John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo. Thus, when the release for the sequel was announced I was as much as excited as the rest. 

Ms. Cathy Garcia-Molina has unique way of creating romance drama films, which are both exciting and mature for the adults to connect to. I like most of her films – just right with perfect blend of “kilig”, drama, and moral. She seldom got off; always just right, delivering us a good taste of romance film.

“A Second Chance” is much more of a heavy drama. It centred not in the mushy chick flick scenes, but in the ugly truth of reality; the up and down of marriage. It was a brilliant move to deliver the sequel years after the first one, allowing the characters to grow and evolve in their own perfect time. Should it be done only year after the One More Chance’s success, I doubt if John Lloyd and Bea would deliver it as good as they did now. Likewise, one couldn’t say if the story would be as intact and justified. The years of gap between “One More Chance” and “A Second Chance” allowed Popoy and Basha to grow, to mature, at least inside the mind of the writer if not in the sight of the viewers. Indeed, “striking whilst the iron is hot” isn’t always the rule of the thumb. When they appeared in the first sequence of the film, I knew the characters have changed in time – not John Lloyd and Bea – I’m talking about Popoy and Basha.

One thing I love about “A Second Chance” is its sequence treatment. I personally admired the way it broke the linear delivery, with mixes of flashbacks and real time narrative. What I’m just bothered about is its being too melodramatic. Popoy and Basha were crying for almost 80% of the whole film. I have no problem with heavy scenes, but the approach, it seemed to me were always delivered in a similar level and manner. The two leads are great drama artists, but somehow it made me think that they overdid the crying scenes. I was fed up with all the crying, sequence after sequence. It became too strained for me. No questions asked that they cry good in front of the camera, but anything you do in too much repetition loses its intended effect to the viewers. Apart from these, I love all the rest. In fact, “A Second Chance” can be levelled alongside international romance drama films. It is written and directed with clarity and mastery. The brains behind it definitely know where they wanted to go to. The ending however, was a cliché for me. But nonetheless, this romance drama film is something different from what we’re used to.