MANILA, Philippines—In our recent review of “Caregiver,” we didn’t go into great detail about lead player Sharon Cuneta’s performance, because we wanted to do so in this follow-up piece on her development as an actress through the years. Her decades-long “journey” as a thespian may prove instructive to other actors or actor wannabes, as well.

When Sharon began her acting-singing career as a bubbly adolescent, she was enormously appealing but didn’t have much of a clue about what good performances were really all about. Thus, she simply followed her directors’ cues and went the standard “kilig-factor” route. Her early screen performances were also too “nice” for comfort.

There came the time, however, when Sharon and her handlers opted for greater legitimacy and weight in her portrayals, hence their decision for her to be directed by ace megmen like the late Lino Brocka (in “Pasan Ko Ang Daigdig”).

‘Poor’ character

However, the well-born Sharon was patently miscast as a beggar in that melodramatic tearjerker, which required her to carry her invalid-mother on her back. Sharon gamely tried to do everything the role required, but she was clearly out of her depth.

Privately, Brocka later expressed his frustration to us over his inability to help Sharon understand the thoughts and feelings of a very destitute person. He lauded her for wanting to become a better actress, but fretted that her “sheltered” existence made it difficult for her to empathize with and fully understand “poor” characters.

Interestingly, however, masa viewers had no problem empathizing with and loving Sharon, who became one of the most popular TV-film stars in local entertainment. But, she achieved this status by opting to top-bill generally melodramatic or lightweight romantic-comedy frolics that did little to boost film buffs’ estimation of her range and depth.

Thankfully, as Sharon grew older, she was exposed to challenging personal experiences and relationships that gave her an emotional epiphany that made it easier for her to feel for others, especially for screen characters very different from herself. This resulted in her far more insightful and emotionally deep portrayal in movies like “Madrasta,” which heralded the arrival of the “new” and “better” Sharon.

‘Alternative’ movies

Another interesting development was Sharon’s belated realization that, if she acted only in mainstream movies, the range and depth of roles available to her would continue to be limited. So, she began to support alternative movie projects like “Crying Ladies,” which further boosted her growing reputation, not just as a good actress, but also as a movie industry leader and advocate of fresh, edgy film concepts.

She did this not just to boost her own acting reputation, but also to use her clout to effect the filming of laudable projects that may not have seen the light of day without the pitch she provided.

Flash-forward to the present: we see “Caregiver” as the culmination of the twin impulses in Sharon’s career to date: To keep improving as an actress and to support unconventional and significant projects.

“Caregiver” is a phenomenon, in our view, because it’s an “alternative” movie—and yet, it’s been produced by a major mainstream movie studio, Star Cinema.

And the best thing about Sharon’s “Caregiver” experiment is that it’s become a hit—proof positive that, if star, studio and viewers think along the same significant lines, anything is possible.

As for Sharon’s portrayal of Sarah, the teacher-turned-caregiver in her current hit starrer, it too is the culmination of her growth as an actress through the years and decades. She explores new heights and depths that make us look forward to her follow-up performances.

To be absolutely objective, there’s still too much of Sharon in Sarah for the caregiver character to fully emerge as a creatively crafted screen person in her own right.

But, with Sharon now on the right track to genuine achievement, we can look forward to the day when she completely “disappears” into her screen character—which is what great acting is all about.