[review] Never Not Love You
my rating: 3.5/5
Spoilers ahead: I will give you my interpretation of the ending so please read on if you are ok with that.
This is the first Filipino movie I’ve ever watched and from what I could infer, NNLY is not a typical local style movie. I recently got to learn about JaDine and their works after stumbling upon the On The Wings of Love (OTWOL) series and I will review that soon as well.
I think what I loved the most about this movie was how close it was to reality. It is not about cheating or a disruption or a responsibility that keeps the two main characters apart. It’s rather their maturity and their need for independence that changes their love. I felt that Jadaone, the director, tried to portray this idea in OTOWOL as well with the whole Simon situation. There were many parallels to those episodes in this movie. However the way Gio deals with the situation makes the audience fall in love with him. I think what I am trying to say is that this movie focuses on true love. True love is letting a person follow their heart even if it means you can’t be with them. True love is realizing things are changing and addressing the situation. True love is wanting the best for the person even if it means that you can’t be part of it.
Nadine’s acting in the last few scenes, before the movie comes to an end, was truly amazing. As an audience we feel the discomfort that she is feeling. There is love but there is also a sense of doubt. A sense of confusion. There is pain.
The ending is open. As the audience we can feel the tension. The “spark” that we felt in the beginning of the movie seems to have faded away. Jason at the tattoo shop also mentions how “finger tattoos fade easily”. However, Gio and Joanne both decide to get the ring tattoo again. They both give up their work related responsibilities to do so as well. And I guess that it shows that they are both willing to give it another try. They are willing to make that sacrifice.
Personally, the ending felt painful because the realist in me feels like it will not work out. We don’t know if Gio can succeed financially. We don’t know if the awkward silence between them will ever die down. Even though, the actual “ending” of the movie ended in a predictable “happy” way there is still something that keeps us thinking. While we have symbols to show that the main characters are trying to keep their relationship, the dim lighting of the movie creates another mood for the audience altogether. The lighting in movie gets darker and darker and initial shades of red are replaced with tones of brown/gray. And I guess that could reflect the mood of the characters which we can hope will brighten up or maybe not.
