BY IRVIN RIVERA

Dolly doesn’t play around. She’s a magnetic force to be reckoned with.

The buildup of Abigail’s character (played by Filipina actress Dolly De Leon), from her first appearance in the film through the final scenes is like a very satisfying, yet intense, amusement park ride- the one that moves around the park slowly, taking its own pace then suddenly throwing you to its peaks, hoops and valleys as it speeds up, slows down and drops you around.

Her first appearance in the first act as the unassuming toilet-manager on a luxury yacht full of privileged, extremely rich people and influencers planted her character as someone who is funny, quick and gets the job done. On the second act of the film, we see glimpses of her character with the other Filipino workers on the yacht as they clean the mess from the chaotic captain’s dinner.

Dolly’s nuanced performance is so magnetic that it draws you deeper into her character without realizing it. She made me want to see more of Abigail. What’s her backstory? How did she end up working in a yacht? Where does she draw her confidence from? And what’s her end goal? I love it when a character doesn’t need to do much but gets me invested as an audience.  It’s a solid performance that deserves the accolades that it got and will get.