Just to give you a background, it was a tumultuous time when Never Not Love You was released, Nadine and James got bad rep for rumors of living in together ("C'mon guys, it's 2018" - Nadine, "IKR" - Me), being hard to work with (James reportedly being hungover) and the sleeper hit Sid & Aya came out a month after so while NNLY had a good run, it wasn't able to hit it's full potential. Which is a pity because this movie had all the great ingredients coming together and the Filipino audience missed out because of how poorly it was promoted (I mean, it was released on a Black Saturday, is that a thing now?)
NNLY is written and directed by Philippine cinema's latest rock star Antoinette Jadaone (That Thing Called Tadhana) and on a personal note I wanna thank her and the rest of the young filmmakers today for making me want to watch some of the local movies again. The characters were well-written and relatable (except for the part where they kept getting promoted, lol) and as their director I think she was able to bring out the best in both James and Nadine. So much so that in my opinion this was what made them graduate from teenybopper, love-team centered movies to more mature and engaging roles which they've been very vocal and determined in getting. A testament to Nadine's excellent performance is her awards sweep that year, taking home Best Actress in Famas, Urian and Young Critics Circle, only the 4th actress to do so joining the likes of Nora Aunor (1990), Elizabeth Oropesa (1999) and Gloria Romero (2000.) The most coveted among her win is from YCC because they only award for Best Performance which means all the acting categories (Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, Ensemble) are lumped into one. Nomination alone is a feat, winning it is something else. James on the other hand also has his moments, but his Tagalog can sometimes get in the way of his delivery although he was able to use his Australian accent for that much needed pogi points (aside from his cheekbones and jawline.) If I'm being critical, he wasn't as on-point in the first phase of his character but he grew into the role eventually. I read somewhere that majority of their lines were improvised that's why you will find yourself smiling when they said something you know you also said at one point in your life (except for asking for mustard at a Jollijeep, lol.)
I appreciate the pacing of the story, the seamless transition from one scene to another and the overall editing done by Benjamin Tolentino. Usually when I look at a movie's running time, it's to find out how many more minutes I have to endure until the movie ends. This time, I felt that 1H45M is too short and wished for more but the movie was compact as it was so you don't feel shorthanded. Cinematography care of Mycko David and Carlos Mauricio were outstanding as well, making Makati CBD look like I wanna work there again (lol), Zambales giving Palawan a run for it's money as the country's last frontier, and they made London seem accessible.
So to recap, Best Actress for Nadine, Best Editing and Cinematography, NNLY is one of the best movies you probably missed in 2018.
