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On the Job Reviews

"Matti shows no fear by destroying genre cliches in 'On the Job,' and his wandering camera opens up the world of Metro Manila while expressing how utterly disposable humans can be under corrupt leadership."

Full Review | Jun 30, 2022

Eric Matti directs an inventive and steadily engaging thriller, with a US remake already on the cards...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 24, 2020

"On the Job" is an impressive film, as it combines artistry, entertainment, and meaningfulness in an outstanding package.

Full Review | Nov 30, 2019

As the myriad plot elements begin to iron out and the true nature of the situation becomes clear, high-concept is replaced by high tension, intellect falls way to instinct and emotion, and an intense, pulsating, super-charged crime flick emerges.

Full Review | Original Score: 8.3/10 | Apr 11, 2019

Despite outbursts of passion and bloody anger, the actors don't completely sell the movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 31, 2018

an audacious trawl through the gutter of Manila's political structures, evoking the very best conspiracy thrillers of the 70s while remaining utterly contemporary and local.

Full Review | May 26, 2014

This is a film whose signature image might be a bloody middle finger in the midst of a very lethal intersection shootout.

Full Review | Feb 5, 2014

A great premise, solid acting, and some really interesting shots from director Matti make this well worth watching.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Oct 1, 2013

On The Job is a chance to see the original, messy thing.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 27, 2013

"On the Job" is a sturdy and sophisticated crime drama from the Philippines that takes a pretty gruesome situation and enriches its presentation with lots of human detail.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 27, 2013

Matti uses this setup to show the rot in Philippine society, and it's often compelling stuff - filmed mostly on dirty streets and in moldy, ramshackle buildings.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 27, 2013

Even at its most incomprehensible, the propulsive thriller "On the Job" is never less than arresting.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 26, 2013

Makes up in character development and action shots what it lacks in narrative innovation.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 26, 2013

Matti's primary order of business is regularly serving up tense, stylish action sequences, and he proves more adept choreographing those than sorting out the convolutions of his parallel plotlines.

Despite the relative flatness of [the] characters - their relationships to one another are more archetypal than particular - the film is as heartbreaking as it is heart-stopping.

The film manages to create some moments of genuine nervous tension, but is undercut by its split storytelling.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Sep 26, 2013

Combining street-level crime with political corruption, On the Job owes as much to Scorsese as it does to Philippine current events.

Full Review | Sep 24, 2013

A nose-to-the-ground crime thriller that also doubles as a wide-ranging portrait of official corruption in the Philippines, On the Job has little trouble delivering the genre goods.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Sep 23, 2013

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Review: ‘On the Job’ is a resonant tale of Filipino hit men

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In the Filipino crime drama “On the Job,” two hit men evade suspicion in the safest haven imaginable: a prison cell. Middle-aged Tatang (Joel Torre) and young upstart Daniel (Gerald Anderson) are two members of an informal prison-labor program in which convicts are temporarily released by high-ranking politicians to take out the latter’s opponents.

The horrifying thing about “On the Job” is its basis on actual events in the Philippines, a country where ballots and bullets are both common instruments of democracy. Director Erik Matti fashions a flinty-eyed, plot-heavy, but emotionally resonant dramatization out of such grim true source material. Despite the relative flatness of his characters — their relationships to one another are more archetypal than particular — the film is as heartbreaking as it is heart-stopping.

SNEAKS: Movie trailers, full coverage

Much of “On the Job’s” perverse joy comes from watching Tatang and Daniel’s increasingly close relationship unfold. The older man’s fatherly affection toward his protégé jars with his clashes with his law-student daughter, whom he visits after taking care of his professional duties. Torre is a revelation; simultaneously pensive and dead-eyed, the actor fills every gap in his character on paper with world-weary weight.

A subplot follows two law enforcement officers (Piolo Pascual and Joey Marquez), both burned by corruption, looking for Tatang and Daniel. When the two sets of partners collide, doom sets in: This world kills all its heroes.

----------------------------------

“On the Job”

MPAA rating : None. In Filipino with English subtitles

Running time: 2 hours

Playing: In limited release

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‘on the job: the missing 8’: film review | venice 2021.

Philippine director Erik Matti's sprawling crime thriller details the political and journalistic fallout from an assassination gone awry.

By Keith Uhlich

Keith Uhlich

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Cinema genre specialist Erik Matti and his screenwriter spouse, Michiko Yamamoto, return to the world of 2013’s On the Job with this ambitious three-hour-and-twenty-eight-minute sequel, which will soon be re-edited, along with its predecessor, into a six-episode limited miniseries for HBO Asia. Even at near- Irishman length, it works pretty darn well as a feature, widening the cops-‘n’-crooks scope of the Manila-set first film to focus on the role of journalism in holding politicians to account.

The setting this time is the municipality of La Paz, ruled over by Mayor Pedring Eusebio (Dante Rivero), the outwardly beloved head of a diplomatic dynasty that promotes itself as tough on crime and corruption. In reality, Eusebio is wallowing neck-deep in the muck, though he has enough control of the media apparatus to consistently twist the public narrative to his advantage.

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Alberto barbera extends contract as venice film festival director through 2026, luc besson's 'dogman' lands march 2024 release date in u.s. theaters, on the job: the missing 8.

Venue:  Venice Film Festival (Competition)

Cast: John Arcilla, Dennis Trillo, Joey Marquez, Dante Rivero, Lotlot De Leon, Christopher De Leon, Leo Martinez, Andrea Brillantes, Agot Isidro

Director: Erik Matti

Screenwriter: Michiko Yamamoto

One thorn in his side is Arnel Pangan (Christopher De Leon), the owner of a struggling newspaper that frequently publishes articles calling out Eusebio and his cronies. This cannot stand, and so Eusebio, like the corrupt politicos in the first On the Job, calls on the services of local prison inmates who are temporarily released to carry out assassinations. One of them, the strikingly broken-nosed Roman Rubio (Dennis Trillo), will prove less than loyal to the criminal code of dishonor.

Pangan is the hitmen’s intended target. But through a cruel twist of fate, seven others (a child included) are with him when he crosses paths with the killers. The vanished victims become another statistic (“The Missing 8”) in the Philippines’ long history of unsolved disappearances, as well as the catalyst for Pangan’s radio host friend, Sisoy Salas (John Arcilla), to rethink his pro-government views and help bring the harsh truth to light.

Little surprise that Salas and his colleagues’ ink-stained life, particularly in the current virtual age, is not an easy one. And there’s a sublime tension in the way Matti and Yamamoto pay homage to the power of print while going stylistically for broke. A tense all-hands meeting is visualized through multiple panels, 24 style, while social media posts and other internet ephemera are often overlaid onscreen as a way of portraying the sheer glut of information (true and false) that competes for reader attention.

Not a moment goes by when Matti isn’t trying to cattle-prod at least one of the five senses, though the downside of this scrappy dynamism is that it makes many of the horrors depicted more palatable than they perhaps should be. On the Job: The Missing 8 at times tends too much toward cheek, as in a pre-credits teaser in which a witness to Eusebio’s corruption is chased down while Tom Jones’ “Delilah” blares on the soundtrack. A much better meld of needle-drop and suspense set piece is a prison riot scored quite effectively to “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” during which the morals-waffling Roman finally, violently asserts himself.

Salas is the primary focus, however, and Arcilla plays him with an initial heedless energy that slowly shifts into hunched-shoulders sorrow. The systemic venality that at first props him up becomes the Atlas-like globe that weighs him down. His eventual transformation into a reluctantly gun-toting, Facebook live-streaming survivalist revolutionary is pure fantasy. But it’s still possessed of a bracingly righteous anger at a debased form of governance (“Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss”) that transcends borders.

Full credits

Venue: Venice Film Festival (Competition) Production companies: Reality MM Studios, Globe Studios Cast: John Arcilla, Dennis Trillo, Joey Marquez, Dante Rivero, Lotlot De Leon, Christopher De Leon, Leo Martinez, Andrea Brillantes, Agot Isidro Director: Erik Matti Screenwriter: Michiko Yamamoto Executive producers: Ronald "Dondon" Monteverde, Erik Matti, Quark Henares, Joe Caliro, Clement Schwebig, Magdalene Ew Supervisingp producers: Stacey Bascon, Michaela Reyes Cinematographer: Neil Derrick Bion Production designers: Roma Regala, Michael Espanol Costume designer: Jac Pequena Editor: Jay Halili Music: Erwin Romulo, Malek Lopez, Arvin Nogueras Music supervision: Erik Matti, Jay Halili Sound supervision: Steve Vesagas Sound design: Corinne De San Jose Sound Engineers: Albert Michael M. Idioma, Aian Louie D. Caro, Lamberto A. Casas Jr. Visual effects: Mothership Sales: Warner Media In Filipino

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Vague Visages

Movies, tv & music • independent film criticism • soundtrack guides • forming the future • est. 2014, a most violent trade: erik matti’s ‘on the job’.

Roaming about a street festival in Metro Manila’s Quezon City, Mario “Tatang” Maghari (Joel Torre) dons a straw hat and converses with a man who appears to be his son. Both characters are visibly strapped (with day bags) and visibly cautious; however, these men don’t live on the streets — the dressings are only part of an act. Tatang and Daniel (Gerald Anderson) live their daily lives in a more sequestered setting — jail — and receive an occasional one-day pass to carry out a most violent trade: murder for hire.

Based on real events, On the Job  opens with graphic, eye-covering violence reminiscent of the brutal realism depicted in Gaspar Noé’s 2002 film Irreversible . Director Matti immediately establishes the urgency of his film and delivers a credits newsreel sequence that connects the city’s political corruption with drug-related crime.

Piolo Pascual plays Francis Coronel Jr., the son-in-law of a congressman (Michael de Mesa) and also a suave, 32-year-old NBI agent designated to investigate the street festival homicide. Coronel’s military background and family connections bring him face to face with General Pacheco (Leo Martinez), who reminds the young agent about the mysterious death of his father . As Coronel attempts to move forward with the investigation, an old-school sergeant (Joey Marquez) takes offense to his removal from the case and blames it on his political views. As Coronel works one side of the law and the young hit man Daniel works the other, the tension builds when a failed assassination attempt leads all to one central location — the hospital — where nobody is safe.

Read More at VV — ‘Stealing Rodin’ and Systems of Vulnerability

While the narrative foundation of On the Job is rather simple (old school vs new school; hard work vs corruption), the cinematography of Ricardo Buhay III and Matti’s unique eye for striking visuals raise the stakes in building suspense. Thirty minutes in, Matti follows Daniel throughout the prison as the daily routines of inmates are brought to life. The extended single-shot reminds of Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas ( bar introductions) , and 30 minutes later, Matti swaps out the pounding hip-hop score for throbbing drums as the characters frantically attempt to search and destroy. It’s pure chaos, but the seasoned direction and slick editing moves the action along with precision.

Torre gives an unforgettable performance as the existential hitman Tatang, and Shaina Magdayao brings a strong (and beautiful) female presence as the loyal wife of Coronel. Although I wasn’t initially sure what to think of Pascual as the lead investigator, he brings a sense of innocence to the role, which is essential for the character’s sensibilities.

Read More at VV — Know the Cast: ‘Collision’

On the Job explores violence both inside and outside the prison, and does so with intellect. The elderly hitman Tatang carries out his assignments in order to survive but also for a little extra family time . Meanwhile, his protege Daniel learns the troubling rules of the game just like the man on his trail. Matti shows no fear by destroying genre cliches in On the Job , and his wandering camera opens up the world of Metro Manila while expressing how utterly disposable humans can be under corrupt leadership.

Q.V. Hough ( @QVHough ) is Vague Visages’ founding editor. 

Categories: 2010s , 2014 Film Essays , 2014 Film Reviews , Action , Crime , Drama , Film Essays , Film Reviews

Tagged as: Action , Crime , Drama , Erik Matti , On the Job , Q.V. Hough

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Fantastic Fest Review: "On the Job" Shoots True with Inmates Freed to Carry Out Contract Killings

It's one killer work-release program!

Image via Complex Original

Review by Justin Monroe ( @40yardsplash )

Director:  Erik Matti Stars: Joel Torre, Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, Joey Marquez, Angel Aquino, Michael De Mesa, William Martinez Running time:  121 minutes ✭✭✭✭✭✭✭✩✩✩ Score: 7/10

The genesis of On the Job , one of cinema's crazier new action crime thrillers, was simple chit chat between Filipino filmmaker Erik Matti and his chauffeur. The driver told an unbelievable story about his time as an inmate, when a crime ring of corrupt prison officials and policemen working with gangsters released him on day passes to fulfill murder contracts for them. Because he was supposedly incarcerated, he always had an alibi for the killings. As batshit as it sounded, a subsequent scandal, which broke when a politician employed a similar service to assassinate his challenger and secure an election, gave credence to the tale and inspired On the Job .

On the Job could have been a simple-minded, serviceable action flick if all it had going for it was the grit and grime of Filipino streets, stylized violence, and its insane premise, but Matti's thriller has more substance, driven by more fully realized characters and the compelling relationships between these men as they struggle to survive. Tatang, for example, talks openly with his protégé about the very real possibility that the student may one day have to snuff out his teacher, just as he once did on orders. Despite a wife and daughter he loves and visits during his homicidal day trips, the elder instructs his loyal pupil to do what he must to survive: "It's business, not personal." 

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Movie review: 'On the Job' is a two-fisted tale of scum and villainy

The film tells the story of Tatang (Joel Torre), an inmate in a Manila jail whose status as a prisoner is conveniently deferred whenever the odd assassination job needs to be carried out. Under his wing is Daniel (Gerald Anderson), a fellow prisoner and hitman-in-training.  

Following a particularly brutal hit carried out in broad daylight, police Sgt. Acosta (Joey Marquez) is tasked with apprehending the culprits. Assisting in the investigation is Francis Coronel (Piolo Pascual), a hotshot NBI agent officer. What Francis discovers over the course of his investigation will cause the young man to question everything he has ever believed as he is pulled deeper and deeper into a web of conspiracy, corruption, and murder.  

While an engaging thriller would have been more than enough for most moviegoers, the dramatic component on display here is also laudable, mining emotion (and drama) from its parallel depiction of the relationship between fathers and sons, be it the one between Francis and his father-in-law (played by Michael De Mesa) or – by extension – Francis’ interactions with Acosta, or that between Daniel and Tatang.  

"On the Job" is the kind of movie that sticks with you long after you’ve left the cinema, as Michiko Yamamoto's ("Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros") and Matti's screenplay puts traditional notions of right, wrong, family, and loyalty through the wringer—and then some! Of course, the underlying pleasure here lies in seeing mainstream actors performing against type in a story that leaves no character unscathed. If Matti's goal was to highlight the fact that no one is innocent, he’s succeeded with flying colors.  

Meanwhile, as Daniel, Anderson is as credibly fiery and hotheaded as the role demands, never letting his character descend into the trap of melodrama. And, if Anderson's character is analogous to Val Kilmer's in Mann's crime classic, "Heat," then the Robert DeNiro role of world-weary criminal here is Torre’s, masterfully subverting his established 'likeable guy' appeal to shine as an aging hitman.  

As for the action (this is a thriller, after all), the violence here isn't of the cartoonish variety (I'm looking at you, "Manila Kingpin").  

‘On the Job: The Missing 8’ Review: Sprawling, Uneven but Gripping Thriller About Multi-Level Filipino Corruption

A heinous act of political suppression forces an ex-journalist to reassess his morals in Erik Matti's large-scale, yet intricate thriller.

By Jessica Kiang

Jessica Kiang

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Scrappy filmmaking can sometimes deliver superb storytelling, as is proven by Erik Matti ‘s initially wobbly but increasingly gripping, increasingly thoughtful, increasingly increasing three-and-a-half-hour “ On the Job: The Missing 8 ,” the prolific Filipino director’s Venice-competing sequel to the 2013 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title “On the Job.” While the film unfolds more like the TV show it’s about to become (together with part one, it is due to be re-edited into a six-episode HBO Asia miniseries), that’s hardly a diss these days. And in its current shape — due largely to screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto’s uncanny ability to keep multiple narrative balls in the air at once — it combines the immersive, occasionally spectacular pleasures of genre cinema with the greedy moreishness of longform TV models. It’s a sprawling, satisfying big-screen binge.

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It also plays somewhat like a 209-minute dolly zoom: As the aperture widens on the intensely corrupt landscape of a society under strongman leadership (Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s name is never mentioned, but the ruthlessly suppressive tactics he is known to employ are everywhere), the focus also narrows onto one man’s painful ethical reawakening. This man is Sisoy Salas (played in a deceptively shrewd, moving performance of integrity gradually winning out over bluster, by John Arcillo) a local celebrity in the municipality of La Paz. On his brash radio talk show, he is known for vociferously defending even the most suspect policies of La Paz’ Machievellian mayor Pedring Eusebio (an excellent Dante Rivero).

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His support for Eusebio has caused a rift between Sisoy and his erstwhile best friend Arnel (Christopher De Leon), who now runs the struggling newspaper the pair co-founded back in Sisoy’s more idealistic days. Since the paper has become known for publishing regime-critical stories — often written by crusading journo Weng (Lotlot De Leon) — it has attracted Eusebio’s attention. On the same night he throws a lavish party at which the clueless Sisoy is prevailed upon to sing karaoke, Eusebio orders Arnel’s murder, to be carried out by a hit squad assembled from the inmates of the local prison.

In a cruel twist of fate, Arnel happens not to be alone when his assassins find him, and eight people in total, mostly newspaper staffers but also Arnel’s 8-year-old son, are murdered that night, their bodies hidden. Only one of the killers seems to show any hesitance: Roman (Dennis Trillo), shaggy of mullet and spectacularly broken of nose, at first seems little more than a cog in the movie’s vast machinery, but will later come to play a key role in the newly engaged, grieving and disillusioned Sisoy’s campaign to find the bodies and to make those responsible answer for their crimes.

“On the Job: The Missing 8” is long but it uses its length wisely, to ever more absorbing and enriching effect. And though Matti can be a little undisciplined in deploying showy techniques — “24”-style split-screens, rather ugly montages of social media chatter, newspaper headlines, TV reports and so on — after a rather confusing blizzard of information up top, Jay Halili’s editing soon settles into its rhythm. That beat is often a familiar one: The Scorsese influence is unmistakable, especially in the use of incongruously cheerful or romantic pop tunes (often Tom Jones covers as a nice little running gag) to soundtrack moments of high peril or violence. But if you’re going to paint an ever-broadening, multi-level, practically dynastic portrait of a whole interconnected system of political, judicial, social and penal gangsterism, who better to emulate?

There is some crossover with Matti’s first “On the Job” movie, particularly in the person of cop Joaquin Acosta (Joey Marquez) who even in that earlier film was dedicated to exposing the practice of manipulating prison inmates — who are often inside for far more minor crimes — into becoming political assassins for hire. But the real focus of this sequel is on journalism (recalling “The Wire” season dedicated to newsroom ethics) and its value in a society not only increasingly hostile to traditional print media, but also saturated, as the Philippines is, with online fake news outlets, and social media clickbait masquerading as reputable sources.

The film is designed as a genre procedural, and delivers its most visceral thrills in well-mounted versions of classic set-pieces, like a prison riot and a last-ditch car chase through a cornfield at night — sequences where Matti’s verve, Neil Derrick Bion’s classical, moody photography and Halili’s exemplary cutting work in concert. But there is also a serious point being made here, and a distinctly angry undercurrent of social critique that all the ironic soundtrack cuts and cinematic suspense-building cannot obscure. It would make “On the Job: The Missing 8” a fine double bill with Ramona S. Diaz’s terrific 2020 doc on pioneering Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, “A Thousand Cuts,” which proves how very close to life much of this expansive, uneven but ultimately richly entertaining thriller really is — especially, perhaps, those elements that seem most far-fetched.

Reviewed in Venice Film Festival (Competition), Sept. 9, 2021. Running time: 209 MIN.

• Production: (Philippines) A HBO Asia Originals presentation of a Reality Mm Entertainment, Globe Studios production. (World sales: Warner Media, Singapore.) Producers: Ronald Stephen Monteverde, Erik Matti, Joseph Caliro, Quark Henares. Executive producers: Clement Schwebig, Magdalene Ew.
• Crew: Director: Erik Matti. Screenplay: Michiko Yamamoto. Camera: Neil Derrick Bion. Editor: Jay Halili. Music: Erwin Romulo.
• With: John Arcilla, Dennis Trillo, Joey Marquez, Dante Rivero Lotlot De Leon, Christopher De Leon, Leo Martinez, Andrea Brillantes, Agot Isidro (Tagalog, English dialogue)

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‘On the Job: The Missing 8’ Review: Sprawling, Uneven but Gripping Thriller About Multi-Level Filipino Corruption

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

Scrappy filmmaking can sometimes deliver superb storytelling, as is proven by Erik Matti ’s initially wobbly but increasingly gripping, increasingly thoughtful, increasingly increasing three-and-a-half-hour “ On the Job: The Missing 8 ,” the prolific Filipino director’s Venice-competing sequel to the 2013 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title “On the Job.” While the film unfolds more like the TV show it’s about to become (together with part one, it is due to be re-edited into a six-episode HBO Asia miniseries), that’s hardly a diss these days. And in its current shape — due largely to screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto’s uncanny ability to keep multiple narrative balls in the air at once — it combines the immersive, occasionally spectacular pleasures of genre cinema with the greedy moreishness of longform TV models. It’s a sprawling, satisfying big-screen binge.

It also plays somewhat like a 209-minute dolly zoom: As the aperture widens on the intensely corrupt landscape of a society under strongman leadership (Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte’s name is never mentioned, but the ruthlessly suppressive tactics he is known to employ are everywhere), the focus also narrows onto one man’s painful ethical reawakening. This man is Sisoy Salas (played in a deceptively shrewd, moving performance of integrity gradually winning out over bluster, by John Arcillo) a local celebrity in the municipality of La Paz. On his brash radio talk show, he is known for vociferously defending even the most suspect policies of La Paz’ Machievellian mayor Pedring Eusebio (an excellent Dante Rivero).

More from Variety

'In the Philippines, the Gangsters Are the Politicians,' Says Team Behind Golden Lion Hopeful 'On the Job: The Missing 8'

How 'On the Job' Franchise Went From Venice Competition Slot to HBO Series

Venice Facetime: Erik Matti Director of 'On The Job: The Missing 8'

His support for Eusebio has caused a rift between Sisoy and his erstwhile best friend Arnel (Christopher De Leon), who now runs the struggling newspaper the pair co-founded back in Sisoy’s more idealistic days. Since the paper has become known for publishing regime-critical stories — often written by crusading journo Weng (Lotlot De Leon) — it has attracted Eusebio’s attention. On the same night he throws a lavish party at which the clueless Sisoy is prevailed upon to sing karaoke, Eusebio orders Arnel’s murder, to be carried out by a hit squad assembled from the inmates of the local prison.

In a cruel twist of fate, Arnel happens not to be alone when his assassins find him, and eight people in total, mostly newspaper staffers but also Arnel’s 8-year-old son, are murdered that night, their bodies hidden. Only one of the killers seems to show any hesitance: Roman (Dennis Trillo), shaggy of mullet and spectacularly broken of nose, at first seems little more than a cog in the movie’s vast machinery, but will later come to play a key role in the newly engaged, grieving and disillusioned Sisoy’s campaign to find the bodies and to make those responsible answer for their crimes.

“On the Job: The Missing 8” is long but it uses its length wisely, to ever more absorbing and enriching effect. And though Matti can be a little undisciplined in deploying showy techniques — “24”-style split-screens, rather ugly montages of social media chatter, newspaper headlines, TV reports and so on — after a rather confusing blizzard of information up top, Jay Halili’s editing soon settles into its rhythm. That beat is often a familiar one: The Scorsese influence is unmistakable, especially in the use of incongruously cheerful or romantic pop tunes (often Tom Jones covers as a nice little running gag) to soundtrack moments of high peril or violence. But if you’re going to paint an ever-broadening, multi-level, practically dynastic portrait of a whole interconnected system of political, judicial, social and penal gangsterism, who better to emulate?

There is some crossover with Matti’s first “On the Job” movie, particularly in the person of cop Joaquin Acosta (Joey Marquez) who even in that earlier film was dedicated to exposing the practice of manipulating prison inmates — who are often inside for far more minor crimes — into becoming political assassins for hire. But the real focus of this sequel is on journalism (recalling “The Wire” season dedicated to newsroom ethics) and its value in a society not only increasingly hostile to traditional print media, but also saturated, as the Philippines is, with online fake news outlets, and social media clickbait masquerading as reputable sources.

The film is designed as a genre procedural, and delivers its most visceral thrills in well-mounted versions of classic set-pieces, like a prison riot and a last-ditch car chase through a cornfield at night — sequences where Matti’s verve, Neil Derrick Bion’s classical, moody photography and Halili’s exemplary cutting work in concert. But there is also a serious point being made here, and a distinctly angry undercurrent of social critique that all the ironic soundtrack cuts and cinematic suspense-building cannot obscure. It would make “On the Job: The Missing 8” a fine double bill with Ramona S. Diaz’s terrific 2020 doc on pioneering Filipina journalist Maria Ressa, “A Thousand Cuts,” which proves how very close to life much of this expansive, uneven but ultimately richly entertaining thriller really is — especially, perhaps, those elements that seem most far-fetched.

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Directed by Erik Matti

On The Job is about the ambitions and passions of four men trying to make a living, for themselves and their families. It shows the parallels between two prison inmates who are contract killers, and the two agents of the law investigating the murders. As they get caught in a web of machination of corrupt government officials, their jobs lead them on a head-on collision against each other with their loved ones as collateral damage.

Joel Torre Piolo Pascual Gerald Anderson Angel Aquino Joey Marquez Shaina Magdayao Michael De Mesa Leo Martinez Rayver Cruz Empress Schuck Vivian Velez Rosanna Roces Mon Confiado JM de Guzman William Martinez Dawn Jimenez Niño Muhlach

Director Director

Writers writers.

Michiko Yamamoto Erik Matti

Editor Editor

Cinematography cinematography.

Francis Ricardo Buhay III

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Malou N. Santos Charo Santos-Concio

Production Design Production Design

Richard Somes

Composer Composer

Erwin Romulo

Sound Sound

Corinne de San Jose

Star Cinema – ABS-CBN Film Productions XYZ Films Reality Entertainment

Philippines

Primary language, spoken languages.

German Tagalog English Italian French

Releases by Date

23 may 2013, theatrical limited, 27 sep 2013, 28 aug 2013, 03 sep 2014, releases by country.

• Premiere Cannes Film Festival
• Theatrical R-16
• Theatrical limited NR

119 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Todd Gaines ★★★½ 11

A Filipino Manila thriller about a pair of assassins-for-hire that packs a bigger punch than Pacquiao in his prime. A crazy-ass street-party. Headshot mother fucker. The lady in the car. A prison. The wise and badass-to-the-bone teacher. The know-it-all-cocky-as-fuck student. Justin Long's Filipino twin-brother as a cop in way over his head. The old-as-fuck Sarge. A shank. Corrupt-government-official-asshole-mother-fuckers. Random-English-sentences. The hit that went to shit. Hospital craziness. Passing the torch. The unlikely duo. Feeling the heat from all sides. You need to kill a mother fucker before he gets powerful. Nowhere to fuckin' go. A long goodbye. Doing the one thing you do best. Surprise mother fucker, Daddy is home! Great leads. Tense as fuck. It's not The Raid or Infernal Affairs but it's pretty damn fuckin' good.

Review by Terence Ang 洪偉凱 ★★★★★

"Putang-ina niyong lahat!"

Bumping this up to a five after this HBO Go rewatch, because, 'tang-inaaa!, On the Job aged so, so well.

A towering performance from Joel Torre; a scene-stealing, middle-finger-raising Joey Marquez; a highly-dependable, big-ass ensemble cast; Erwin Romulo's electric score; Jay Halili's slick editing -- that hospital-to-the-streets-of-Manila chase sequence -- 'tang-inaaa!; Francis Ricardo Buhay III's gritty photography; Michiko Yamamoto & Erik Matti's layered and gripping screenplay; and Matti's near-perfect execution, pun very much intended -- a masterpiece of a neo-noir crime thriller indeed.

Originally seen last August 31, 2013 in SM City North EDSA.

Review by feedingbrett ★★★★½ 4

Included In Lists: Strong Performances - Joel Torre

Filipino cinema can't seem to gain enough credit from audiences outside of its own, and in a way it is understood why this is so as many peering into the contemporary demands of the medium are of romantic escapes, featuring premises that are either too outlandish or recycled. However, the studio system of my fair country could not be entirely blamed as this approach to cinema is what the masses crave, to enter into a story or world that constantly presses on our brain’s pleasure button, one that is indulgent of its sentiment and frequently charged with admirable energy that unfortunately aims to only graze superficially. Many of its paid viewers have…

Review by Adrian Oli ★★★★

One of the most importent & popular cinema for modern Philippines. A crime thriller about 2 hired hitman who kill for money for an invisible team. This crime drama's subject matter is quite serious as it talked about political conflict. Loved how director staged the screenplay with pure dramatic events which felt so real & lively. A bold film.

Review by More_Badass ★★★★ 1

Riveting Filipino neo-noir, following a pair of inmates temporarily released to perform hits and the pair of detectives drawn into their wake, as their paths circle amid the political corruption and grime of Manila.

Erik Matti devotes the first half to exploring the lives and nuances of its four equal leads. When the cop and criminal plots finally collide, the action is masterfully gripping and nihilistic, the suspenseful consequences firmly rooted in that carefully-established drama. The midpoint collision - a hit, a mistake, multiple chases and shootouts - is a truly electrifying sequence of mounting tension and propulsive editing, foreshadowing the eye for geography and relentless forward drive that Matti would amplify in BuyBust.

On The Job is a bleak and calculated thriller, that would pair well with Mikhail Red‘s Neomanila for a fantastic Filipino-noir double-feature.

Review by Varghese ★★★★ 1

A quieter cousin to the Departed.

Takes it slow and ends powerfully

Review by Lunar Maria ★★★★

As a Filipino, it's hard to say I had little interest in modern Philippine cinema because most of them focused too much on cheesy rom-coms, slapstick comedies, infidelity and such. We are hopeless romantics indeed and that is the name game in our mainstream cinema- I'm not against it though but you know, watching crime thrillers such as these is my cup of tea and I'm glad they produced a likable movie of this genre. This is a real-life drama in our country about drugs, corrupt politicians, shady cops, hired assasins all that sort of stuff. Commendable acting too from our seasoned actor, Joel Torre and former matinee idols, Piolo and Gerard. The plot is predictable and yet it delivers the tension that I was looking for. Director Erik Matti's style did justice in our society's grim and bleak reality so overall, On The Job did a good job!

Review by LinusMxx

A gritty edge-of-your-seat Filipino crime-thriller with a timely socio-political commentary. That hospital scene and the action leading up after that was the best part in the film. Also, Joey Marquez and Joel Torre. Dishonorable mention: Gerald Anderson and his punchable face.

Review by Nicolò Grasso 6

Original Title: On the Job Year of Release: 2013 Genres: Action; Crime Director: Erik Matti Writers: Michiko Yamamoto, Erik Matti Main Cast: Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, Angel Aquino, Shaina Magdayao, Michael De Mesa, Rayver Cruz, Joel Torre, Joey Marquez

Enjoyed On the Job quite a lot! Erik Matti is an incredibly skilled filmmaker who is able to change cinematic registry effectively depending on the type of film he is making. This action crime drama has really darn good performances, excellent tense shootouts and chases, a shocking level of violence (there's an unforgettably gory headshot in the opening, and each wound is a bloody squib), and a solid story that works as a cops vs robbers narrative as well as an…

Review by Avirup

A hitman drama, crime thriller with socio-political commentary. It's gritty, bleak and cynical. Lacks little refinement but still does decently to cover its elements. Also it needed more political intrigue and deeper dive into the systematic corruption but Matti seems to be good at mixing genres. The street photography is good, it has some really impressive sequences and I quite liked the grubby vibrancy of some of those prison scenes. Overall pretty solid and enjoyable.

Review by Jammerlich ★★★½

Asian Cinema Challenge 2021 Week 10: Made in the Philippines

Progress 37/52

Came into this with pretty much no expectations as I added it due to availability first and foremost. "On the Job" does little to reinvent the modern gangster film, it has strong characters on both sides of the fence and doesn't shy away from comparing the crime lords with politics, but it's just super solid. The hospital sequence alone makes this more than worth the watch. Pretty late to the party on this one, but don't sleep on it. Haven't had an action blind watch rising above my expectations like this in a while.

Review by Waldo ★★★★½ 6

A hell of a police crime thriller from the Philippines. It does what many police crime dramas fail to do: write characters that we care about. So when the shit hits the fan you really don't know who to root for. Well acted, written and directed with style and suspense that makes you lean forward in your chair, this is a modern crime classic.

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‘On The Job’ HBO series review: a thrilling descent into the Philippine criminal underworld

Erik Matti’s two neo-noir movies are cut into a faster-paced, must-binge viewing experience

E arlier this year, director Erik Matti told NME that On The Job: The Missing 8 , the sequel to 2013’s On The Job , was “an angry movie”. That also proves true of his new HBO Asia original series, which combines both films and extra footage into a heady six episodes. Over nearly seven hours, Matti increasingly outrages viewers as they tunnel deep into a twisting rabbit hole of corruption. With a cast of despicables, in a milieu where nothing is simply black or white, is everyone on the take?

• READ MORE: Director Erik Matti on the sequel to On The Job : “Yes, it’s an angry movie”

Set in Metro Manila and the fictional La Paz province, the series centres on how prison inmates are hired by politicians and the wealthy to assassinate their enemies. When they finish their secret executions, they are taken back into custody until the next mission. Everyone from the penal authorities to the investigating cops are part of this elaborate, expensive cottage industry.

A deeply Filipino morality tale in the form of a stylish, bloody neo-noir, the series is as much Canterbury Tales as James Ellroy, baked in the fires of Scorsese and The Wire’s David Simon. There’s a helpful “inspired by true events” note at the start of each episode, just in case you thought Matti and screenwriter Michiko Yamamoto pulled all this absurdity from their imaginations. Episodes four through six particularly reference events that regularly make the Philippine headlines: from the Maguindanao Massacre , the phenomenon of desaparecidos (the disappeared), to the tragicomic rigmarole of executive branch inquiries. They’re all rooted in non-fiction. A scene in episode four, where a Senate witness repeatedly declares “I invoke my right against self-incrimination” might seem comically surreal, but it really happened .

The main protagonists of this sprawling ensemble are “Tatang” Mario Maghari (Joel Torre) and Sisoy Salas (John Arcilla). Tatang, whose story dominates the first two episodes, is a prison old-timer and veteran assassin whose skill for murder is legendary. In the next four episodes we get to know Salas, a shock jock who hosts the beloved community radio show of La Paz town. Torre and Arcilla both bagged Best Actor gongs for their performances – Torre in 2013 for the first movie at the Puchon International Film Festival, while Arcilla won the Volpi Cup at this year’s Venice IFF for the theatrical cut of OTJ2 .

And these acting powerhouses deliver. Torre’s detainee assassin is alternately caring and conflicted as he takes on a young, brash protégé, grappling with how he’s training his own replacement in a profession where veterans are gifted with shanks in the guts upon retirement. Meanwhile, Arcilla is radio celebrity “Manoy” Sisoy Salas, a propagandist for the incumbent mayor, though he becomes steadily disillusioned when the same politician appears to have orchestrated the execution of his fellow journalists. With Kubrickian moments of harrowing self-inquiry, Arcilla’s Salas is the more interesting performance.

Recommended

Unfortunately, sometimes On The Job undermines its own dramatics with distracting music curation and prickly plot points that make the protagonists look implausibly lucky, their forward movement contrived (there’s a big one in episode five). But even if the pacing sometimes drags, Yamamoto’s deft writing manages to keep the show cohesive, the narrative balls aloft in the air.

“Revenge can be a great feeling!” gleefully declares the ill-fated, honourable cop Sgt. Joaquin Acosta (Joey Marquez) and it’s that slim hope for payback that moves the characters in this series, even if such a mission spells disaster. That’s the ecology of anger, harming both carrier and object of disaffection, but in OTJ, The Series , the sins of the wrathful are almost a criminal pleasure to watch.

On The Job the Series is now streaming on HBO Go.

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The Asian Cinema Blog

In-depth asian movie reviews. bridging the gap between asian film and western audience.

Director : Erik Matti

Writing : Erik Matti, Michiko Yamamoto

Country : The Philippines

Year : 2013

Erik Matti paces “On the Job” with a temper of Guy Ritchie and engrosses into grit and blood with a pleasure of Quentin Tarantino. The result it masterfully crafted crime thriller about a tangle of corruption that leaves no hope.

The story opens with two main characters – Tatang (Joel Torre) and Daniel (Gerald Andersan) walking down a busy street of Quezon City, Metro Manila. A festival (that looks like Songkran festival as everybody is pouring water over each other) has filled the streets with cheer and chaos. From the first moments we recognize our characters as polar opposites – Daniel is young, energetic, careless, even a bit goofy, while Tatang is older, calm, focused and grim. With no-bullshit attitude, he teaches the youngster to be more attentive to the surroundings. With overwhelming intensity we are waiting to see what our characters are doing there, as it is clear they are not there to enjoy the festival. Tatang focuses on the target, steps forward, the sounds of festival are silenced to hear a clear sounds of a gunshot. A second shot to make sure the man is dead. They run away along with scared crowds of people.

The director Erik Matti does not give many details to explain situation as the few plot storied unfold as pieces of puzzle for the viewer to solve. As an all-knowing storymaster he is out there giving the viewer a piece to make one develop a theory and then another piece to make all assumptions void. This game is among other great aspects something that can keep you glued to the film if you can accept its rules.

Just after the shooting, the credits roll with some news stories about drug lords. So is Tatang and Daniel self proclaimed vigilantes fighting the crime? No, they are prisoners at a local jail. So do they belong to a vigilante circle that uses good-willing prisoners? Again, no.

“This is just work. It’s easy to kill if you’re angry with a person. What if you’re ordered to kill an old man who can barely walk? Could you still do it?”

Meanwhile few other stories unfold. Francis (Piolo Pascual) is a son-in-law of a powerful politician. He is given the case of the shootings, though his efforts to solve it are hindered by the small “favors” his father-in-law is asking. And the last side plot is of the sergeant Acosta (Joey Marquez), one of the few uncorrupt good cops, honestly trying to get to the truth in the shooting case. Francis and Acosta clash at first, but soon Francis realizes he is being played and they join efforts.  Eventually he has to make a decision to stay loyal to family or to his moral principles.

On one hand, “OTJ” is about The Law against The Crime. However, the line between Good and Evil is blurred and in the end the only looming evil is The Man, the Big Brother, the corrupt controlling government. We can emphasize with all of the characters. Tatang is a cold-blooded hitman, but also loving father and husband trying to take the family out of poverty. Cocky Daniel is also helping his family and just trying to build something for himself in a desperate situation. We never even get to know why they are in the jail in first place. Sergant Acosta, constantly losing the battle for the good, even in his own family, where his son becomes a criminal. And Francis, having to choose between comforting but morally ambiguous life or risking it all, including his beloved wife, to do the right thing. Story unfolds with some funny scenes, even some hopeful scenes but only to end in absolute desperation. Every hope is crushed by the Forces That Be, who are playing and toying with everyone through their web of corruptness. The most desperate character for me was Tatang, who upon realizing he has nothing to live for outside prison, destroys everything and goes back behind bars. The closing scene shows him through a car window, view blurred by falling rain, a man with nothing to lose with an empty look on his face.

Apart from great story, what makes this film so enjoyable is masterful camerawork by Ricardo Buhay III, editing by Jay Halili and soundtrack by Erwin Romulo. The perfect pacing of camerawork and the music is mesmerizing. One of the best examples is the scene in the hospital where Tatang has to finish the hit job. One of the best scenes of such type that can be put in the same ranks as Guy Richie’s “Snatch” and “Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. The following chase scene in dark streets of Metro Manila is superb as well. Shaking camera and blurry dark scenes add to the intensity. Talking about Manila, in “On the Job” it is portrayed as the type of noir sin city, like Los Angeles in “Chinatown”, Bangkok in “Ong Bak” and Mumbay in “Talaash”. And as the noir genre requires, most characters are lost in the darkness of its crime-filled alleys.

Movies that portray dissatisfaction with the government are not new to Filipino cinema. Films made under Marcos dictatorship and martial law in the Philippines (1972-1986) had more subtle allusions to what was going on in the country. Few examples: Mike de Leon’s “Batch 81” (1982) and Ishmael Bernal’s “Manila By Night, a.k.a. City After Dark”. “OTJ” is much more direct blow on the corrupt government system and its moral consequences in society. Though overall film is more focused on crafting chase scenes and shootings, it manages to bring the moral statement as well as masterfully packed crime-thriller action.

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Home » Review » Movie » On the Job

A one-of-a-kind premise sets  On the Job  ahead of the pack from the get go, though it doesn’t get bogged down by novelty.

It’s genius in a wicked kind of way, really. Hire a hitman who’s already in prison. Get him outside the prison walls for a day (corrupt prison guards come in handy here). He’ll make the hit, return to the penitentiary, and the cops will be left clueless, searching for a suspect who’s hiding right under their noses. Erik Matti’s riveting crime-thriller On The Job revolves around this exact scheme, which is (startlingly) based on a real-life scandal that took place in the Philippines where prisoners were hired to carry out political assassinations.

The film follows two such prisoners: Tatang (veteran Filipino actor Joel Torre), a middle-aged, seasoned contract killer who’s seen it all, and his protege, Daniel (Gerald Anderson), a young, cocky son of a bitch who’s meant to replace the grizzled Tatang once he gets out of the clinker for good. Matti and co-writer Machiko Yamamoto juggle the anti-buddy-cop storyline with a parallel, much less interesting story about two cops on the other side of the scheme. Piolo Pascual plays Francis, a handsome, street-savvy, rising-star cop who takes control of the seemingly uncrackable assassination case out of the hands of Sergeant Joaquin Acosta (Joey Marquez), a stubborn, crusty veteran who’s less than happy to hand over the reins.

The one-of-a-kind premise sets On the Job ahead of the pack from the get go, though it doesn’t get bogged down by novelty. Matti and Yamamoto employ slow-boil storytelling, and the two duos don’t collide until a third of the way through the film (the extremely tense hospital shootout and noir-ish nighttime foot-chase sequences that result are well worth the wait). The multi-layered plot is slightly perplexing at the outset, but as the myriad plot elements begin to iron out and the true nature of the situation becomes clear, high-concept is replaced by high tension, intellect falls way to instinct and emotion, and an intense, pulsating, super-charged crime flick emerges.

Torre’s Tatang is one of the toughest, coldest killers I’ve seen in a film like this in a long time. He looks like a pot-bellied, out-of-shape everyman, which makes him all the more frightening. The film opens on the packed streets of Manila during a parade with Tatang on one of his murderous prison day trips. He blends in with the bustling crowd and weaves through them like a snake until he reaches his target, who he shoots point blank, right in the face, in broad daylight. His eyes are vacant and focused all at once–he’s clearly a man in his element, emotionless and all about business. It’s this sensibility that he’s tasked to impart onto Daniel, a loose cannon who thinks he’s untouchable (surprise surprise). The trajectory of their relationship gives the film its power, and the two actors deserve a lot of credit.

There isn’t a bad performance put forth by any member of the cast, a hodgepodge of old and young, A-list and B-list players in the Filipino movie scene. Everyone pulls their weight. Matti’s ever-mobile camera bobs and weaves through the seedy, dark Manila slums with agility, creating an ever-present sense of imbalance and spontaneity. Matti recalls Scorsese’s Goodfellas Copacabana tracking shot as he follows the back of the Mayweather-cocky Daniel through the dingy innards of the prison. Action is sparse in Matti’s film, but when violence does rear its ugly head, it erupts with brute force, and you won’t soon forget the gory, impeccably choreographed set-pieces.

Social and political corruption is the name of the game in On the Job , and though Matti says nothing new about the matter, he delves deep, and it’s the presentation of the material that will floor you. How far will good intentions get you in the rough streets of Manila? Not very far. Just ask any character in Matti’s world who shows a bit of heart.

On the Job trailer:

On the Job Movie review

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US job openings fall to lowest since 2021 in broad cooldown

U.S. job openings fell in April to the lowest level in more than three years, consistent with a gradual slowdown in the labor market.

Available positions decreased to 8.06 million from a downwardly revised 8.36 million reading in the prior month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed Tuesday. The figure was below all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

The decline helped lower a ratio closely watched by the Federal Reserve – the number of vacancies per unemployed worker – to the lowest level in nearly three years.

The pullback was fairly broad. Vacancies in health care fell to the lowest in three years, while those for manufacturing dropped to the lowest since the end of 2020. Demand for government jobs also weakened.

Openings in accommodation and food services also decreased, possibly reflecting California’s higher minimum wage requirements. Hiring in that industry fell to the lowest since the onset of the pandemic.

Recent data indicates the labor market is cooling, but it’s been gradual through slower hiring rather than outright job cuts. Fed officials hope that trend will continue in order to rein in demand and tame inflation without putting millions of people out of work.

The rate of hiring and layoffs were both unchanged. While layoffs remain historically low, hiring has slowed down, suggesting companies are comfortable that their staffing levels are appropriate to meet demand.

The so-called quits rate, which measures people who voluntarily leave their job, held at the lowest level since 2020. The recent decline could indicate that people are holding onto their jobs because they feel less confident in their ability to find a new position.

The ratio of openings to unemployed people eased to 1.2, the lowest since June 2021. The figure – which Fed officials pay close attention to – has eased substantially over the past year. At its peak in 2022, the ratio was 2 to 1.

The data precede Friday’s monthly employment report, which is expected to show the U.S. added 185,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate held steady.

Some economists have questioned the reliability of the JOLTS statistics, in part because of the survey’s low response rate.

—With assistance from Chris Middleton, Augusta Saraiva and Daniel Neligh.

Heart care for life

Feeling chilled to the bone while fishing in January is an endurable compromise for doing something you love.