Watch List (2019) Review

“Watch List” Theatrical Poster

Director: Ben Rekhi
Cast: Alessandra de Rossi, Jake Macapagal, Arthur Acuna, Jess Mendoza, Angeli Bayani
Running Time: 94 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Before viewing Watch List it’s important to understand the very real backdrop that the production is set in. When Rodrigo Duterte was elected president of the Philippines in 2016 he launched the War on Drugs, encouraging both the police force and citizens alike to kill anyone they knew was involved with illicit substances. Believing the country was becoming a ‘narco-state’, within the first 3 months officials put the death toll at 3,000, and writing this in 2020 some human rights groups put the figure close to 30,000. While many Filipino’s voted for Duterte based on the fact he’d promised this exact hard-line approach, the ugly reality of implementing such a policy in a country where corruption is rife soon began to rear its head.

Corpses started to show up dumped on the streets, often riddled with bullets or with their heads wrapped in masking tape, usually with an accompanying cardboard placard declaring them a drug offender. Articles began to run about the use of police sanctioned death squads, revealing the police themselves were working with questionable characters or those who had no other choice but to carry out the killings. An increasing number of victims were reported as having no links to drug use, the result of a blatantly flawed system, which takes allegations of people using or dealing drugs at face value with little investigation. If you wanted a vendetta settled with no questions asked, all you need to do is ensure the person you have a grievance against is labelled as being involved in drugs, and if they turn up dead, well, they deserve it.

The Filipino film industry has shown a distinct reluctance to tackle the War on Drugs in a negative light, and understandably so. The countries most popular broadcaster, ABS-CBN, had its licence to broadcast expired in May 2020 by Duterte, forcing them off the air. It was a decision that many believed came about due to their critical stance against many of his policies. Ironically ABS-CBN are also behind a restoration programme rescuing some of the Philippines most important cinematic works, a programme which has also now lost its funding. 

What we do have are a number of pro-War on Drugs productions. A couple of the most prominent are 2017’s Kamandag ng droga, essentially a series of vignettes highlighting how drug use will only lead to misery and death. Duterte even cameos, delivering a speech to the audience in which he encourages them to report drug users so they can be shot by the police (he goes on to say “Or do it yourself if you have the gun. You have my support.”) Another is 2019’s KontrAdiksyon, helmed by prominent Duterte supporter Njel De Mesa, who was conveniently appointed to the board of directors of the MTRCB (Movie and Television Review and Classification Board) after making a number of promotional videos for Duterte during his 2016 campaign. Both productions failed to light up the box office.

So Watch List is unique, in that it takes a decidedly cynical view of the War on Drugs, and those that it affects on the bottom rungs of the social ladder. In many ways it shares DNA with another Manila set production, 2013’s excellent Metro Manila, in that both are helmed by non-Filipino directors. Whereas Metro Manila was directed by Sean Ellis from the UK, Watch List sees American filmmaker Ben Rekhi sat in the directors’ chair. Watch List marks Rekhi’s third feature length movie after his well-regarded 2005 debut with the indie flick Waterborne, and sophomore feature The Ashram in 2018. While both movies had their own distinctive style, Watch List arguably marks the directors most mature work to date.

The Watch List the title refers to is a list compiled by the government of citizens with a previous drug conviction, who in 2016 found themselves the target of the police crackdown, regardless of how recent or long ago the conviction was. The plot focuses on a couple, played by Jess Mendoza (We Will Not Die Tonight) and Alessandra de Rossi (Woman of the Ruins). Living in a Manila slum with their 3 kids, thanks to a previous conviction they find themselves the target of a police raid their slum is subjected to. Despite surrendering, one-night Mendoza is killed by a pair of vigilantes and labelled a drug peddler, leaving de Rossi to fend for herself and her kids. Finding it impossible to find work, she seeks out a cop involved in her murdered partners case, played by Metro Manila’s Jake Macapagal, and offers to help their drug operation by leveraging her old connections, little knowing exactly what she’s letting herself in for.

Like the pro-War on Drugs titles mentioned, Watch List also uses footage of Duterte, as inserts from 2 of his speeches ominously play over the opening credits. We listen to him explain how he won’t stop until every last person involved in drugs is either “surrendered, or put behind bars, or below the ground if they so wish”, and state that “there is 3 million drug addict, I’d be happy to slaughter them.” The flippant attitude towards murder and the cheapening of life resonates throughout Rekhi’s feature, and could almost be argued to be propaganda against the War on Drugs as much as the other productions are propaganda for it. The message is blatant, however the narrative affects largely due to the powerhouse performance by de Rossi.

A veteran actress of both the small and big screen since the late 90’s, she brings a sense of humanity to the role which elevates the expected plot beats and anchors the movie. As a woman pushed to the edge of desperation, a role which could easily be played as a victim is transformed into one of subdued defiance, and a willingness to do anything for her family. The always excellent Macapagal (not withstanding Showdown in Manila) conveys the underlying motives of his character in the subtlest of ways, a cop so far entrenched in his own corruption that he probably believes what he’s doing is right. He sets de Rossi up with a mentor in the form of actor Art Acuña (The Bourne Legacy), who seems affiliated with Macapagal’s cop but clearly isn’t one, and soon de Rossi finds herself thrust into the darkness of Manila’s night, roaming the streets on Acuña’s scooter as the once hunted becomes the reluctant hunter.

Despite the familiar tropes of Watch List and a certain inevitablity of how it’s going to end, Rekhi makes it work by focusing on the characters as much as the circumstances. The actor playing the oldest of the kids, Micko Laurente (BuyBust), is a standout. As a character coming to terms with the death of his father, while harbouring suspicions around what his mother is up to, all the while attempting to study and look after his siblings at the same time, he has a lot on his plate. De Rossi has battled to keep him on the straight and narrow, not one which is easily fought when his friends are already dealing, however the issue becomes exasperated once their trust is broken, and ultimately leads to an expected final reel which still delivers the intended emotional impact.

Filipino cinema has become increasingly more prominent in recent years, thanks to titles like Erik Matti’s On the Job and BuyBust. Matti clocks in a producer credit on Watch List, and it’s not difficult to see why he came onboard. While Rekhi’s movie doesn’t offer anything new with its narrative, to see a movie which so boldly flys in the face of most other productions coming out of the Philippines alone makes it worthy of note. Thanks to the stellar performances from its cast though, Watch List elevates itself from being more than just a curiosity piece, and the end result is a genuinly engaging piece of work that feels equal parts drama and thriller. The final frames will linger in the mind for some time to come, as the cycle of drug use and violence fades to black, the only certainty being that it’s destined to repeat itself. If you have the opportuntiy to catch Watch List, make sure you do.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 7.5/10