In the world of melodrama, there aren't any unique stories. What differentiates them is how they are created by a writer and/or by a movie director.
GMA Films and Viva Films co-produced the romantic drama In Your Eyes, under the direction of Mac Alejandre with a script by Keiko Aquino. It is topbilled by Kapuso star Claudine Barretto, Viva-managed star Anne Curtis and resident GMA-7 leading man Richard Gutierrez.
Naturalized U.S. citizen Ciara (Claudine Barretto) has taken it upon herself to put her personal life on hold until she can push through with the petition for her easy-go-lucky younger sister Julia (Anne Curtis). Unknown to her, Julia has fallen in lust with similarly footloose photographer Storm (Richard Gutierrez). He decides to pack up his life and go with Julia to America. He moves in with the sisters. Shenanigans ensue...but don't hold your breath.
The first hour of In Your Eyes has at least five montages involving the cast walking through tourist locations, making it look like a travelogue for Los Angeles, California. The movie's main conflict—the love triangle that develops between Julia, Ciara, and Storm—doesn't start until an hour and a half into the film, when a vulnerable Ciara sleeps with Storm.
Direk Alejandre has a tendency to make his main characters emote on the streets for an inordinate number of scenes. This brings up a weird bit of production design that bugged me throughout the film: why are there "For Sale" and "For Rent" signs in front of Ciara's home if she has already paid for at least part of it?
The truly missed opportunity in In Your Eyes is that there's a kernel of reality here—the overseas Filipino experience of sacrifice, resentment, gratitude, anger and joy—that Aquino's script ignores in favor of stilted romantic gestures.
On the upside, the film is lustrously shot, and the production is designed to the skin of its very shiny teeth. Each wall looks freshly painted, each marble counter looks Pledged, and Julia lays out an entire loaf of bread for Storm's breakfast for no reason other than the fact that it looks nice.
THE ACTORS' PERFORMANCE. It's Anne Curtis who fares best in the drama. She creates an unapologetic Julia who is childish, demanding, and generous in different but consistent bursts. She appears to be connecting with the other characters instead of posing while waiting to say her next line.
There are a few inconsistencies, however, such as how Julia was able to get a teaching job when it's been established that she only has a student visa, but that's a minor crack in the script.
The actress also has a much-publicized, but very brief, scene where she shares a post-coital shower with leading man and former boyfriend Richard Gutierez that was well-received by the audience during the premiere last August 15 at SM Megamall.
Richard's Storm is a successful photographer in the Philippines but then we see him at work shooting a fashion shoot with a backdrop that looks like a common bedsheet. When he decides to pack up and follow Julia to the States, he becomes a petulant kid when he gets a menial job at a mall express photo shop. He acts like the job is beneath him, which leads one to ask what Storm expected after scoring a job in a mall photo shop.
When the Storm-Ciara relationship becomes sexual, the maternal vibe between Claudine and Richard makes the triangle seem like a misfire. Maybe more workshops were necessary to develop the chemistry.
Claudine does her best, but is let down by the script, which boxes her in as "self-sacrificing." A pity. If they had written Ciara with other shadings, she could have made a home run with this film since she has proven herself to be quite capable in other projects. Considering, however, that she plays a character who consistently settles for what she can have instead of what she wants, maybe that's not deliberate, and all Ciara wants is to get out of the situation.