‘Never Not Love You’ is a beautiful movie. That’s not true entirely in the context of its being a romantic film, it is beautiful in the same way relationships often are–flawed, chaotic, mostly heartbreaking, but inspiring and life-changing enough to make people stronger, and help them become the better persons they need to be. And it is what people who are truly in love, deserve. In the film, Gio (James Reid) and Joanne (Nadine Lustre) are two people with conflicting priorities, but somehow managed to set their differences aside. Their love affair works in fits and starts, its magic never perpetual nor fleeting, but compellingly endearing.
The latest from blockbuster director, Antoinette Jadaone, the film may remind of past movies with similar themes, the most memorable being Star Cinema’s ‘How To Be Yours’, where lead stars, Bea Alonzo and Gerald Anderson, play characters that are pulled toward the opposing poles of love and career. Like ‘How To Be Yours’, ‘Never Not Love You’ bears an appeal that’s both puzzling and relatable; its imperfect but mesmerizing charm falls into the conventions of the genre, as it seemingly tries to escape them.
At the center are Gio, a carefree freelance graphic artist whose biggest dream is just to be happy, and Joanne, a hardworking marketing assistant whose towering ambitions are mostly for her family. Opposites attract, so they say, and true enough amidst their differences, romance is ignited between Joanne and Gio. What comes next is an affectionately intimate correspondence between two young people passionately in love, stretching through an emotional journey that reflects the same ones we go through–as lovers, as human beings.
Jadaone is doing something unfamiliar with this movie. She knows exactly how inherently mindblowing James and Jadine’s chemistry, is, that she tries to tame the fire by slowing down the pace of the narrative. Arguably, the result she manages to come up with, is a monotonous and mostly predictable love story. For a conventional romcom, such choice could be largely problematic; it mostly isn’t, in this case. Nothing is sudden and easy in this vulnerable love affair, either for Gio or Joanne, whose struggle to embrace their relationship’s imperfections, will strike audience, who may grow impatient for a ‘big bang’ moment in their story, to happen–a ‘pahingi-ng-award’ sequence, that is. But then again, there is a fulfilling way to look at the film and its elusive beauty. Jadaone’s script somehow gets across its intents, by crawling toward an abundance of sincerity and relatability, by not depriving its characters the space and time they require to prosper, thereby allowing us, audience, to witness real human beings turn to their better better versions, with time and experience.
Nadine Lustre has never met a character as challenging as Joanne, but she owns her with emotional precision, her nuances appropriate and articulate. She imbues the character with breathtaking affection, and an emotional range that is never hampered by Joanne’s deficient character development. James Reid perfectly fits as the easy-go-lucky amboy, Gio, but there really is something off, in how he delivers his lines–they’re mostly devoid of the right emotions. Be that as it may, Gio isn’t a character difficult to love; he is hot as hell, for god’s sake! And together with Nadine, he mesmerizes.
‘Never Not Love You’ can’t be in any way Jadaone’s best work, but she manages to pull off some amusingly unconventional styles, that make her script generally fine. Still, there is a stroke of brilliance that lends this flawed tale of love and sacrifices, strikes a chord, and the truth it explores, never less haunting and moving. And yes, this isn’t Jadaone’s best, but it is JaDine’s best movie, to date.
3/5
5 – Excellent
4 – Very Good
3 – Good
2 – Tolerable
1 – Terrible
‘Never Not Love You’ is now showing in cinemas, nationwide.
