Spoilers ahead!
The Sinag Maynila family drama "Her Locket" ends with a verse from the book of Exodus:
And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
-Exodus 33:19
From the acting to the delivery of the dialogue, and even through facial expressions, much of the film is rooted in being compassionate towards others and towards oneself. This is evident in our central character, Jewel (Rebecca Chuaunsu), as she navigates her past and present, both through a bejeweled locket and the people she interacts with.
Jewel suffers from dementia, and her lawyer-son Kyle (Boo Gabunada) does his best to provide for her. When Teresa (Elora Españo) enters as Jewel’s new caretaker, she tries to help the family despite her lack of experience and her own insecurities peeking through.
When Teresa unearths Jewel’s locket, we are transported to her past, where her relationship with her family is murky, to say the least. It is strongly suggested that she has a more loving relationship with her father than her mother, and especially her older brother, Magnus.
As Jewel remembers her past, we see her shine as a good-hearted person fighting through her circumstances. As a child, she tries to comfort Magnus after an altercation, only for it to be thrown back at her.
At university, she finds love in a Filipino, even though in accordance with Chinese tradition, she is arranged to be married. And when she discovers a supposed forgery of their late father’s will, she removes herself from a harmful situation and vows to seek the truth.
Jumping back to the present, she is still merciful towards Kyle, Teresa, and especially Magnus. In the film’s climax, she and Kyle prove that Magnus forged their father’s will but do not go through with the judgment, surprising everyone. She also gives up her locket to a tearful Teresa, which shows two things: Jewel being at peace with her life and Teresa living with the consequences of her actions.
One thing that Kyle commends his mother for is how brave she is. In the past, she was brave because she defied expectations and carved her own path in life. In the present, she is brave because she has made peace with those who betrayed her.
Her compassion and mercifulness left an impact on those who received it, and it is something that they, and us as the audience, will feel for a very long time.
