A clever manipulation by the masterful hands of Chito Rono - ****

Originally intended for a totally different set of cast, this film only started shooting in July of this year when Kris Aquino finally agreed to do the film. With all the big name stars and the kind of idiosyncrasies that go with the process of producing a film it is amazing how the director managed to come up with such an insightful take on the lives of mistresses.

This movie , loosely based but mostly just inspired by the book of Julie Yap-Daza, follow the relationship of 5 friends drawn together by a common predicament, that of being mistresses of high profile men. Georgia (Kris Aquino) and Chloe (Claudine Barretto), represent two opposing sides, that I can only describe as either assertive or permissive. 

One of the strengths of this film is the script.  Cleverly written lines and thought provoking sentences put you into the shoes of the mistresses and the real wives. But the biggest strength of this film is the masterful work of Chito Rono.  This year's work is definitely better than his last work which was Feng Shui 2 and proves to be a good picker upper.  Putting together all the elements of film, script, movie and lighting and not to mention motivating actors I can only attribute this film's success to his sensitive and conscientious management.

Coming back to Star Cinema after two years, this is to me Claudine's most daring performance.  She shines here as the aggressive advertising hotshot.  Pilar Pilapil delivers an important monologue about wives.  And Kris Aquino redefined the concept of underacting.  Iza's Stella provides wake-upper that changes the game for these ladies.  Kim's Ina is the conscience while Cheena's Charley is the strength.

Though the material seemed daring as it seems to glamorize the scandalous lives of mistresses, what is ultimately, not wrong, but to me a little disappointing about this film is the direction it decided to take in the end.   Because what really happened is, it showed you the ups and downs of being a mistress, but then it decided for the audience what is good and took the moral scapegoat.