Smaller and Smaller Circles

Audience Reviews

View More (7)

Gab Z Based on the novel of the same title. It's a thriller movie set in the 90s. Upon search, the novel won the Carlos Palanca grand prize for the English novel in 1999. I'm glad the book was produced into a film; we deserve such a masterpiece. The A-list actors are just a cherry on top. Good story, good cinematography. Little issue with the sound, I can't pick up the dialogue sometimes. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/23/23 Full Review Audience Member My husband found the first half dragging, but I appreciated those parts because they established the political and religious setting that contributed to the serial killer's motives. Lots of red herrings thrown around. I loved the cinematography and the priests' acting the most. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member This is an intriguing crime and mystery film about two priests investigating a series of murder in Payatas. The story will get you hooked about solving a mystery crime although it had a slow start. Yet after picking up the initial clues to the mystery, it started to gain momentum. It's entertainment factor increases as the movie progresses. It is like a detective style film but what's interesting here is the two priests investigating it. Another intriguing part of the story was an exposé about anomalies involving religious people. I like the way the film portrayed those exposé part in a decent way of showing it as I find still respectful of the religion they are pertaining to. The two investigating priests were portrayed by stellar performances of Nonie Buencamino and Sid Lucero. Both gave a compelling performance but Buencamino leads the roster of characters. The whole film has a good ensemble casts that even those supporting casts were remarkable to remember like Carla Humphries, Christopher de Leon, Ricky Davao Bembol Rocco and Gladys Reyes. I also commend the cinematography of the movie. The shots truly induce a mood of thriller and suspense to it. It was so effective in capturing the movie's detective/CSI style theme which also feels dark and terrifying. Watching this film makes me remember The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as both has resemblance in genre and theme. But Smaller and Smaller Circle stood on its own for it has well-written very hooking mystery story and stellar casts. I honestly felt the ending was so open-ended that I want to know more and I don't want to end it yet. Maybe because it has a very hooking story – Now I don't know if it is both good and bad but I highly recommend this movie to watch. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member Smaller and Smaller Circles is a balloon full of tiny holes that you constantly inflate. Unfortunately, itï¿ 1/2(TM)s kept in its state til the end. Could have been aided to reach its full-blown potential. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/14/23 Full Review Audience Member It's not often that we get a serial killer movie from Pinoy filmmakers. So if there's anything going for Smaller and Smaller Circles, it is novelty. A serial killer handpicks pre-pubescent Payatas boys as his victims. He castrates their genitals and peels off their faces - as if "stripping them off of what makes them human". Two Jesuit priests help the NBI in finding out who's behind these gruesome murders. Smaller and Smaller Circles works best as a procedural with the two priests trying to make sense of the killer's motives and trying to discover his identity. However, the translation from the page to the screen lacked tension. This is most evident in how anticlimactic and rushed the ending came out to be. The stilted dialogue, especially when the characters speak in awkward conversational English, doesn't help their case. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member A lot was lost when building characters and plot was sacrificed in favor of building a cinematic ominous atmosphere (which young Filipino directors, I noticed, desperately aim for lately, wherein arthouse-y tricks trump over storytelling). We then end up with a book-to-film translation with uneven editing and some missed opportunities. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Smaller and Smaller Circles

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now