The most shocking plot twist of the movie is that Anne Curtis can act. She is without a doubt one of the most beautiful actresses in the country; she did fairly well in those rom-coms from the early 2000s but her performance as Manigan was exhilarating and refreshing.
The rest of the cast were excellent and portrayed their roles well despite the limited dialogue. The film relied more on action than dialogue, but still managed to paint a picture of the realities of crime and poverty in the Philippines.
It is a great movie and is a far cry from the usual local cinematic offerings that recycle the same plotlines and the same love teams which Anne Curtis ironically used to be part of. Erik Matti proves his mastery of crafting thought-provoking and action-packed flicks. Each second is filled with anticipation and does not leave the viewer time to catch their breath.
This can be a reflection of Philippine society, wherein there exists the people who perpetuate the ills of the nation and those who are tired but have grown apathetic to the chaos. There was one resident who hesitated to help the squad escape, where the only thing holding him back was the question of his family’s safety after snitching the drug kingpins.
The cinematography felt avant garde. There were many colors present in every scene but it also had this dark overtone, telling the viewer that everything looks fine but deep down, you know it’s not. There were times where the shot was continuous and never stopped moving. That helped build the crescendo to the brutal fight scenes and plot twists. Times when the shot stood still managed to keep the somber tone of the film.
The film’s plot twist was not what I imagined but it is realistic. Obviously, Anne Curtis cannot die in the movie because she is Anne Curtis. But she went through the whole movie being a cop out to clean her name and became this rogue Dirty Harry* in a split second.
In the end, Buy Bust is a must-watch film not only for Netflix viewers, but also Filipinos. If we use kilig from romantic comedies to escape life’s harsh truths, Buy Bust punches you in the stomach to show you what truly happens in our country.
Story by Andrea Ong
*Noun. Dirty Harry (plural Dirty Harrys) (figuratively) "A police officer who is reckless, disregards practices and policies, or who practices vigilantism, or has a questionable use of force and officer involved shooting incidents."
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