Kathryn Bernado & Dolly De Leon Talk Filipino Dark Comedy ‘A Very Good Girl’; “Days Of Women’s Stories Being In The Shadows Are Close To Over”

Kathryn Bernado, known as the Queen of Philippines Cinema, and Triangle Of Sadness star Dolly de Leon are both almost unrecognizable in their new movie, A Very Good Girl, which ABS-CBN and Star Cinema are opening at the U.S. box office today (October 6). 

Bernado, who is famous for her roles in romantic dramas, plays a woman hell bent on revenge against a former employer who sacked her – a glamorous retail tycoon called Mother Molly, played by De Leon. Bernado’s character switches between her true self – down-trodden, working-class girl Mercy, now forced to scam foreigners online for a living, and her faux persona as high-rolling socialite Philo, out to trick her former boss. 

“I specifically asked Star Cinema to pitch me something a bit out of the box for me – something about empowerment or a bit dark,” says Bernado, when asked what she liked about the project. “My fans in the Philippines were surprised because they’re not used to seeing me in roles like this.”  

Meanwhile, De Leon, who international audiences know as the resourceful domestic worker in Ruben Ostlund’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Triangle Of Sadness, spends much of this film decked out in designer dresses and swanning around at high society events.

“I was looking forward to playing someone with agency, because that’s so different to most of the characters I’ve played in the past,” says De Leon, whose previous work also includes gritty roles in films by Lav Diaz and Erik Matti. “It was also my first anti-hero role. Molly is very controlling to the point that people tend to hate her, even if she’s trying to win their love. I was really interested in playing a character who has a kind of psychosis about her.” 

Directed by Petersen Vargas, the dark comedy deploys many of the tropes of mainstream Filipino cinema, but with an additional dose of flamboyance and satire, before deviating into the twisted faux mother-daughter dynamic between Philo and Mother Molly. Think Crazy Rich Asians, but with much more violence and some social commentary. 

However, Vargas is keen to point out that this a woman’s story – it was initially written by a woman, Marionne Dominique Mancol – and behind the comedy is a tale