Her Locket: Unlocking Half the Story

In honor of Philippine Film Industry Month and the return of the “Sinag Maynila” film festival, we watched the heartbreaking family drama “Her Locket.” And while both the acting and life lessons have left an impact, some storylines could have been fleshed out more. Spoiler Alert!

Synopsis

Jewel Ouyang Nicolas, an elderly woman with dementia, discovers her past after finding an old locket. The locket restores memories of her strained family relationships, her successful acting career, and her older brother, Magnus, whom she believes stole her inheritance by tampering with their late father’s will. Despite her illness, she seeks justice in court, confronting her brother. In the end, she faces a critical choice between vengeance and forgiveness.

Acting

We applaud the cast for putting so much time and effort into their characters. Sophie Ng shines as the younger Jewel who remains compassionate in spite of her circumstances, which allows Rebecca Chuaunsu to grieve for her as the older, memory-deprived Jewel. 

Meanwhile, Boo Gabunada holds his own as Kyle, Jewel’s lawyer-son, who provides for her while seeking justice for her behalf. And Elora Españo is chilling as Teresa, her caretaker with her own ambitions and insecurities to overcome.

Dialogue and Expressions

“Her Locket” balances biting dialogue with scenes where the characters’ emotions speak for themselves. Granted, when there is no dialogue for a long scene, we as the audience have to pay close attention to grasp what their eyes or body language tell us.

We also appreciate the language switch as a reminder that we’re watching the life of a Filipino-Chinese family. The film then highlights specific traditions and dynamics, from arranged marriage to parental influence, and especially inheritance disputes. These set the stage for why the characters did what they did (or did not do).

More Storytelling

We love the story on its own. But we also want to watch more of it. How did Jewel become a famous actress? Did her parents not meddle enough that she just lived her life that way? What will Teresa do after getting the surgeries she wanted? 

And speaking of Teresa, while we understand that the film hinges on Jewel’s life, we also could’ve seen bits of Teresa’s struggles, too. We just have to believe what she tells us, and then we have to play the morality police because of how she interacts with Jewel. 

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“Her Locket” is a touching tale of compassion and mercy, especially from a woman who has gone through so much in her life. And while there could’ve been more storylines to explore, what we watched is more than enough for us to feel for her for a long while.