M (Mother’s Maiden Name) begins with Bella (Zsa Zsa Padilla) learning that she has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Bella, a successful lawyer with a caustic personality, refuses to be defeated by the disease. She recruits the aid of her only son Joven (Nico Antonio), and together, they explore every possible treatment, from expensive experimental stem cell therapy, to the traditional remedies of provincial arbularyos.
The film is basically a tour of the healthcare options available in the Philippines, pointedly highlighting the contrast between what’s made available to the affluent and the options of the poor. The first half takes us on a lavish tour of healthcare for the privileged, which includes a side trip abroad just to get a second opinion. The film then explores the other side as mother and son visit the home of one of the house help (Gloria Sevilla), who has a sick daughter. They go from healer to healer, experiencing various therapies along the way. They also end up in a small, overcrowded hospital, waiting for treatment that the doctors may not even be equipped to give.
The film is not subtle at all about its message. The climax of the film makes the outrage loud and clear, as it painstakingly depicts the lack of medical access still plaguing many parts of this country. Films that let the message take priority can be a bit difficult, but M mostly earns its statements. It begins by grounding all the events with character, spending time laying out the emotional terrain that exists between Bella and her son. Bella is a character we don’t often see as protagonists in our cinema. She is what is more in the mold of a telenovela kontrabida: vain, imperious, and generally not nice to others.
But the film quickly finds the humanity in this caustic personality. Because this isn’t a telenovela, where there are clear heroes and villains. The film plants itself deep in the reality of healthcare, where all humans are bound together in a universal struggle against death. The film softens Bella at points, but it is strongest when it shows how her fierceness can be vital. The film only really falters in its little detours through the world of romance. The film gives Joven a hint of an infatuation that doesn’t really go anywhere. It might have been better off cutting that out completely, giving more focus to the relationship with his mother.
Zsa Zsa Padilla is terrific as the lead character. As Bella, Padilla is at the perfect level of toxic. This is the kind of role that actors tend to eat up, using the awfulness as license to ham it up. But Padilla still shows restraint in this role, crafting a completely believable portrait of a really mean individual. Padilla’s performance gives the film a powerful center, grounding the drama even as the film comes to focus on its message.
M (Mother’s Maiden Name) can still be pretty clumsy sometimes. There are parts where it feels as though the characters are just standing idle while the film makes one of its points. And there are the stretches that are dedicated to giving Joven something to do. But for the most part, the merits of the film outweigh its flaws. This is a film with a lot to say, its exploration of the world of the sick and dying finding something powerful and universal along the way.
My Rating:
