A Very Good Girl * * *

 A Very Good Girl is a good and bad film in equal measure.

It shimmers on the screen: the lighting, the photography, the cinematic beauty of it can be stunning at times.  The acting can be awful with unbridled soapiness and stupid lines that demand emotional vagaries from the actors.

Molly and Philo, looking good.

I went to see this because it sounded interesting. I have visited the Philippines a few times and have become a little familiar with their culture and society.  Not too many Filipino films get a showing here. 

A Very Good Girl reflects a  Filipino society that is far from the common person: Beautiful homes, stupidly expensive shops and hotels, and an enviable lifestyle of designer clothes, fine dining and the best wine.

A young woman, Philo, works for an older woman Molly who owns a string of shopping malls. Played by Dolly de Leon (who was excellent in Triangle of Sadness) Molly is a bit of a Cruella, (just think heartless bitch).  Philo, is played by Kathryn Bernado who is extraordinarily beautiful. In the Philippines she is a bit of a TV Star/Model/Celebrity/Media Favourite  - you know the type, every country has got one.

Philo is unfairly dismissed by Molly, further to that Molly commits a heinous crime against Philo's Mum and gets away with it. Vengeance must be sought.  But how do you avenge the rich and powerful? 

The scenario is far from original, though that didn't bother me.  Lets face it, not many stories are original.  What matters is how you tell your story, unfortunately this isn't told well.  

You'll rarely feel the excitement as we move toward an inevitable climax. I felt like scenes were imitative stock standard reactions and ideas.  It keeps retreating, or distracting itself or it pastes on another idea. It's rambling and messy. Some of the scenes might be tense or even confrontational, but overall the film isn't.  

But as I say, it sure looks good!