A moment of extreme domestic violence escalates beyond the boundaries of morality and reason in writer/director Raymund Ribay Gutierrez’s debut, the new Filipino legal/social drama VERDICT. The film was the Philippines’ official International Entry for the 2020 Academy Awards and won the prestigious Horizons Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
Dante and Joy Santos live in Manila with their six-year old daughter Angel. Things seem to be in sync, but when Dante comes home drunk and demands aggressively some gin from Joy, he reacts violently attacking Joy and causing injury to Angel. Joy and Angel escape to a refuge centre and Dante is subsequently charged with domestic abuse and violence and placed in jail.
However, the road to justice is paved with a far more complex web of legal obstruction and red tape, as well as a considerable financial toll for both sides of the case, something which Joy is struggling to come to terms with, particularly when evidence mounts that threatens to derail her desire to get her seemingly abusive husband out of the way….
Compelling and involving drama that highlights some timely issues with the treatment of women and brings up a ‘he said, she said’ perspective that goes a little deeper with the truth, particularly in a community of have-nots that are already finding it difficult to make their way in their locality and the world in general.
Although the film follows a traditional legal case concept which has been seen umpteen times in umpteen Hollywood legal dramas like A FEW GOOD MEN and TWELVE ANGRY MEN, the film is a bit grittier in look, with a courtroom that looks like a Social Security office, claustrophobic and probably more in keeping with what most of us will see if it comes to that.
There is a deeper commitment to strong characterisation here, with the nature of inherent human spirit handed down from generation to generation and makes no apologies for violent action and its’ consequences. In addition, there is a level of balanced analysis from both sides of the coin, addressing the deeper reasons behind why incidents happen. It also addresses the after-effects of such actions in seeking justice with reflection in an unsentimental fashion.
