Sharon Cuneta and Chito Roño, a timely scenario, notable cinematography, shooting in London... for this alone, Caregiver should easily have been the landmark film of the year. Instead, I left the moviehouse seriously underwhelmed. This film was definitely less than the sum of its parts.

Not to say that Caregiver reeked. For all intents and purposes, Caregiver was a good movie. Sharon never disappoints, and Chito Roño belongs to that small class of Directors who actually give a damn about the technical aspects of Filmmaking. Hence, the Cinematography was excellent yet not distracting, the music was just right, even the production design effortlessly brought us from Pampanga to Manila to London without so much as a hitch. And judging from the bleary eyes of the female moviegoers who watched the film with me, it must have been poignant enough to touch them. Still, I felt the film was decisively lacking.

My bulletpoints:
- I heart Sharon so much.
- Sharon was crying for three-fourths of the movie. In the remaining fourth, she looked like she was on the verge of tears. COME ON!
- Makisig Morales stole the damn film. I almost wish this film was about a Pinay caregiver and a young Pinoy immigrant trying to find their place in London. Makisig is gold.
- The damn film had too many plotlines weighing it down. They could have cut out the Pinas scenes totally, AND IT WOULDN'T HAVE MADE A BLASTED DIFFERENCE.
- John Estrada has the "Spoiled Brat" role down to a T.
- Monique Wilson was a fucking extra. Monique FUCKING Wilson. Where's the justice in this world?!?
- Seriously, are we still trying to go with the "Suffering Pinay Heroine" angle? Can't we have stronger female roles? They could have made Sharon's character stronger while maintaining the storyline.
- Wonderful cinematography and editing. We got gorgeous shots of London without turning into a travel video. Good work, Eli.
- Line of the film: Makisig - So this is Goodbye? Goodbye!

Overall, it was a fundamentally sound film that didn't have the emotional ooomph I was looking for. Ploning is still tops for this year.