Verdict: Proceed with Caution
Pinoy Rebyu Score: 2.42 (18 ratings)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director: Nuel Crisostomo Naval
Writer: Mel Mendoza-Del Rosario
Cast: Anne Curtis, Derek Ramsay, Andi Eigenmann, Jaclyn Jose, Jackie Lou Blanco, Joel Torre, Johnny Revilla, Shy Carlos
Synopsis: The movie starts with Anton (Ramsay) proposing to his girlfriend Raffy (Curtis). She accepts, but she gets cold feet the night before the wedding, succumbing to her insecurities about their relationship. Raffy goes away for a while, and Anton finds comfort in the arms of Raffy’s sorority sister Sam (Eigenmann). Raffy eventually returns, and hopes to reunite with Anton. Anton is all too happy to have things back the way they were, but Sam wants something more for herself. (Click the City)
MTRCB Rating: R-13
Running Time: 110 mins
Trailer:
Reviews:
5.0 Mark Angelo Ching (Pisara.me)
“Storytelling is not the only positive aspect of A Secret Affair. I liked how Naval composed every frame.” (Read full review)
4.5 Jennifer Dugena (PEP)
“The movie presents emotionally graphic issues of betrayal, deception, and treachery in a relatably real manner, at times cathartically so.” (Read full review)
4.0 Starmometer
“A Secret Affair is a crowd-pleasing romantic drama with hard-hitting dialogues delivered by finely wrought characters.” (Read full review)
3.5 Maridol Rañoa-Bismark (Yahoo Philippines)
“You end up crying, laughing and nodding to yourself at the unexpected though logical ending. And while you’re at it, you pick up lessons on family, love and betrayal as well.” (Read full review)
3.5 Bum-Spot
“Curtis’ role fit her perfectly. She doles out her lines (specially her ‘taray’ lines) as naturally and effortlessly as she breathes air.” (Read full review)
3.5 Ihcahieh
“To some extent, this movie appears to be better made than No Other Woman. Here, the subplots in which the minor characters are involved are given enough focus for the actions to be justified.” (Read full review)
3.0 Philip Cu-Unjieng (Philippine Star)
“What I don’t like about the film are exactly what promises to make the film a runaway success. What are set up as dialogue is often an excuse for speeches and an opportunity for dropping the mouth-gaping closing line.” (Read full review)
2.0 Oggs Cruz (Twitch)
“Its bare plot essentially revolves around the stupidity of people, but Naval still insists on conjuring obvious lessons on life and marriage out of it. It is as if morality is an afterthought by the filmmakers, who are quick to exploit the very real problem of infidelity for a quick buck.” (Read full review)
2.0 Nicol Latayan (Tit for Tat)
“The film’s biggest problem is its material. For a movie that tends to borrow all the tips from the telenovela handbook, it tried to push a ‘realistic’ (read: moral) ending.” (Read full review)
2.0 Jowana Bueser (The Birth of Damnation)
“A second-rate duplicate of a substandard original portends dire results.” (Read full review)
2.0 Manuel Pangaruy (Taga-ilog Special)
“Direction-wise, it’s serviceable enough. It’s just that it was already done before; same theme, almost the same cast, same gloss and same approach. Some scenes are likeable (car scene with Jaclyn Jose and daughters, the iconic artwork in Burgos Circle, etc.) but it’s very hard to take the characters seriously. The women here are either plain bitch or just fickle minded.”
1.5 Rito Asilo (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
“Kitsch-rich and fraught with tedious clichés, the movie lurches between melodrama and comedy as its warring characters trade one-liners with scathing, scattershot hooks.” (Read full review)
1.5 Cathy Peña (Make Me Blush)
“A Secret Affair brims with caricatures, none of them deserving our empathy.” (Read full review)
1.5 Mario Bautista (Showbiz Portal)
“There are no real persons in both movies, only caricatures. As such, you don’t sincerely sympathize with any of them.” (Read full review)
1.0 Skilty Labastilla (Young Critics Circle)
“Such a ridiculous movie with despicable characters who don’t seem to run out of stupid decisions. Really, all the movie does is show a never-ending loop of stupid-decision scenes, confrontation scenes, and crying scenes that it will take extreme restraint on the viewer’s part to not shout at the cinema screen in utter frustration.
Andi Eigenmann has screen presence but can only do so much with such a one-note role. Also, Tim Yap needs to stay away from movies. The guy can’t act to save his life. And to think he plays himself!”
1.0 Philbert Dy (Click the City)
“The film revels too much in the tainted joy of petty revenge, and that can only do harm in the long run. Through it all, dramatic music plays, and the women laugh as their souls continue to darken.” (Read full review)
1.0 Ria Limjap (Spot.ph)
“This is a fairly ridiculous movie, with terrible transitions and hammy acting.” (Read full review)
1.0 Dicot Alvarado (Sine Critic)
“The film frames these characters in such a way that we’re supposed to care for them, however we as an audience know that these people are completely revolting and not worthy of our sympathy.” (Read full review)
