Here’s my review for the film Adan which stars Cindy Miranda and Rhen Escano and opens today.

The film was directed by Roman Perez, written by Yam Laranas and Jonison Fontanos.

Synopsis:

A naive provincial girl finds a way to get ahold of her independence through the help of her girl best friend. But their actions have nerve-shattering consequences.

The film also stars Epy Quizon, Bembol Rocco and Maui Taylor.

This was a promising movie. This was one of those surprisingly good films that’s mainly a crime drama peppered with sex; although this one goes with lesbian sex with the two main characters Ellen (Escano) and Marian (Miranda). There’s just so many story beats here which makes it a bit challenging to watch. Then at certain points, we drop everything and move on to the next plot point; still I’m impressed with how they managed to make the story flow, while at the same time highlighting the sensual bits.

The way the story was crafted, you would think that everything’s cut and dry but dive a little deeper and you’ll see that not everything is what it seems. From the story’s perspective for example, it feels like Epy Quizon’s character is the antagonist but logically speaking, he’s not.

And because this is an R-rated film, I don’t even have to expound on the fact that there’s violence, sex and nudity in this film. Most of them are integral while others are fleshed out the titillate the audience. Suffice to say, this would be both Escano and Miranda’s film to catch when they catch their biggest break in the entertainment scene. Think of Yam Concepcion’s steamy scenes from Rigodon which got revisited and generated buzz again when the actress got her big prime time break.

Cast

Cindy Miranda shows how talented she is and even if this is a sexy movie, she’s showing signs that she’s not just a pretty face. And I like how she hits the right spot (no pun intended) with her character as they devolve gradually into darker versions of themselves. The same goes for Rhen Escano’s Ellen who undergoes a dark metamorphosis of her own. Both ladies bring their A-game to their character. There’s this one scene (which you can probably see in the trailer) where she (Cindy) looks at Rhen’s character with a longing glance done effectively.

Can I also add that the film wants to be taken very serious (which I do) with the backdrop being the lesbian sex sprinkled throughout the film. The film and the cast try their best to make it as meaty as possible and avoiding the 90’s “bold” era with cheesy acting and non-sensical plot. For that they get a high score for the effort.

Cinematography

Viva needs to give the movie’s cinematographer, director and DOP a raise because they managed to blur the lines between beautiful cinematography and common looking locales. There’s this beautiful scene on top of a hill where Len and Marian catch up which they do every month. The color palette, the camera angles and the quality of the camera makes those scenes great. And that includes the love scenes too.

Twisted Sisters

I like movies with good twists especially towards the ending. Adan straddles the fine line between the two. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say that the most twisted part of the story comes at the end and on the surface level, it made for good viewing. However, when you analyze or do a second viewing, you’ll see that it doesn’t add up; or it doesn’t add up in the way you’d normally want it to see. There are some things that you’ll need a good dose of suspension of belief to enjoy it. That or maybe I just didn’t really get what the film was trying to imply.

Adan Review – Verdict

8/10

There are a few notable plot inconsistencies for Adan but its still an engaging and interesting film to watch. There are a few tense moments here and there that makes the film more palatable.

Adan is now showing in theaters! Special thanks to Viva Films! Follow me on Twitter at @thefanboyseo for more movie news and reviews!