Alone/Together

For people who rated low. Probably you are not the audience. This is not a romance for teenagers who haven't experienced tough trials in life. This is not romcom. This is not your giddy-fluffy love story. This is a mature story.

Alone/Together is my first Liza Soberano-Enrique Gil movie and I really wanted to like it but I didn't as much and maybe because it's a Tonette Jadaone/Black Sheep productions that my expectation was set high and with good reasons: Never Not Love You for Jadaone and Exes Baggage for Black Sheep. It's surprising I've never seen a comparison between Never Not Love You and Alone/Together because they pretty much resemble each other: the girl who's struggling to find herself compromised by being there for her partner and the boy who was a failure at first but became a success after. Both were written and directed by Jadaone and released less than a year apart, NNLY in 2018 and A/T in 2019. I was wondering if I saw it in reverse, would I like A/T as much as NNLY (for reference I rated NNLY a rare 4 of 5) but I reckon I wouldn't primarily because I feel both actors fell short of what was required of them. Soberano had to be 27 yo and although she did look the part, she still resonated 22 yo (her actual age.) As for Gil, he was supposed to be a doctor, cum laude to boot, but there wasn't any wisdom or maturity displayed in his acting. All I could do was watch them drown scene after scene and while it wasn't bad per se, it just didn't provide me the escape I'm looking for whenever I watch a movie.

Now while A/T seems like a knock-off of NNLY (actually even that last confrontation scene reminded me of One More Chance), it's not a waste of time because it had its own strengths, particularly the beginning when we see Soberano's character and her promising trajectory as an overachieving Arts major headed for the big leagues. She was believable whenever she spewed knowledge about the arts, and she looked good to boot. In fact, she looked so good the only way we could root for her after the wrong decisions she made in her life was for Gil to be paired with the equally gorgeous Jasmine Curtis Smith who appeared a little under 5mins with barely anything to say. Meanwhile, all Gil had to do was go out of a hospital wearing a lab gown and we're supposed to believe this made him a doctor. The most interesting part aside from the Met Museum tour is the conversation they have about how Soberano's character's life turned out was due to cowardice or bravery: her decisions can be interpreted as cowardice by the person looking from the outside, but it was bravery for her who had to live it.

It would've made more sense if A/T was marketed as a Soberano standalone movie instead of a LizQuen Valentine's day offering. It was just about her character with some guest appearances. In essence, A/T was brave to put Soberano out there, but it was cowardly to leave her hang out to dry. It would've been better if we could've seen both Soberano and Gil feeling Alone in their respective relationships, and in stark contrast how happy they were when Together. They might not have gotten it right this time, but hopefully they will all be brave enough to try again.

I gave it a 10 even though I'm aware that it's not a perfect movie, because of the lesson it has taught me personally. This movie introduced me to some things I might encounter in my future after I graduate. It somehow scares me, but it also prepares me just in case i experience the same.

As an idealistic person myself who dreams so big, just like Cristine in the movie, I appreciate how this film shows how life can mess up with you, and how you can mess up yourself. It follows a story of what-if's that were not answered in the past, and how sometimes you might get twisted about that past and the present.

It teaches us that we can dream, but not be so idealistic that we think everything will be perfect. When life hits you, you will realize how important it is to know what the present holds and brings, and to not give that much pressure on yourself about the future.

Alone/Together is not a just about romance, I actually refuse to see it as a romance movie; it did not just focus on the love story but also and especially the challenges, the lessons, and the growth of the main character.

Alone/Together (2019)

The movie caught me off guard with its impressively dramatic lines, as other mainstream movies always do. A relatable story between two what-ifs romance, that also tapped into historical revisionism issues in a light emotion-grabbing process. 🙌

Sadly, dramatic lines wouldn't be enough to band-aid a bad formulaic screenplay. As the film jumps between two timelines at the beginning, a non-linear narrative became its matchstick for my underdeveloped attachment to liz-queen relationship. The introduction to our characters' relationship was cut short, and non-distinctive if you compare it to other Jadaone or star cinema films. They had the chance to be distinctive with their UP-UST cultural relationship, but the film did not delve into that and choses to have generic-advertisement-type of cheesy connection.

The absence of character background, and arc on Enrique's role contributed to shortfall of the romance that film wanted to establish in the first place, as if the whole movie is solely about Liza.

It would be a great movie if the story was marketed and developed in focus of Liza's ordeal, and not a story of romance rushed, cramped, confined, and forced to ''appear original''.

Do not believe me, it was a great watch for valentines season, if you are for good soundtrack and heart-breaking lines.

and the movie trailer was really great.

A so-so film. Full of tears for every Lisa Soberano scenes. I guess there are just few scenes that she did not cry. I was really laughing on a scene where the mother of Lisa was already crying / teary eyed when her daughter came home with teary eyed. Typical Filipino tearjerker. Arts is just an excuse in the movie. Same old emotionally driven movie. As what Jose Javier Reyes' Said on the tribute to Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal, Filipino films nowadays tackles hundred explanations of emotions, narrating one's emotions to the other party.