Joanna (sympathetically performed by Maricel Soriano) is the doctor who finds new love in Ian after recuperating from a cheating husband and showers him with attention.
Ian Montes (played to the hilt by Aga Muhlach) is the classic Pinoy male who feels heâs Godâs gift to women unlike most men of this strutting ilk, at least he comes equipped with dimples, a well-maintained bod and makes oodles of money. The first establishing shot is a birdâs-eye view of the Alabang Town Center fountain, done ala Gaudi with fragmented tile pieces, foreshadowing the movieâs theme of broken relationships, and ends with the lead characters walking over a rocky shore. The cinematography is subtly symbolic, thoughtful and well-motivated. The sound engineering was consistently solid, the wardrobe and make-up were expressive of the charactersâ personalities, and the acting was mostly spot-on. de los Reyes does an excellent job with A Love Story: the plot is complex enough to hold a more discerning audienceâs attention. However, the scene itself is questionable because, first, the best friend has not been fully developed as a character to have that moral ascendancy over Adie to make the confrontation believable, and second, the scene feels more like an acting showcase than a pertinent part of the film.Finally, a mainstream Filipino flick that experiments with non-linear storytelling, uses an excellent cast (not reliant on the upcoming star of the moment), and doesnât insult the moviegoersâ intelligence with overly explicit explanations.ĭirek Maryo J.
Again, the scene is wonderfully acted, with both Alonzo and Feleo tearfully delivering their lines without any hint of hesitation. In another confrontation, Adie is lectured by her best friend (Ina Feleo). It is a scene that is there to arouse the scandal-hungry minds of viewers who have been kept longing for a scene where two women exchange hurtful words all in the name of the love of a single man. For example, the word war between Trisha and Adie, while acted deliciously, is both emotionally and logically sterile. To be fair, there are confrontations that are tense, but they are more products of artifice than authentic sentiment. They have their characters spout exposition of both narrative and emotions, short-cutting their way to a very predictable resolution where blunt moralization trumps harsh realism. Instead, Naval and screenwriter Vanessa Valdez drown the film with words and sentences. It begs for quieter moments where the aches and troubles it attempts to flesh out can take seed to resonate. Unfortunately, a lot of those confrontations feel manufactured, bereft of any soul or real pain, despite all the tears and impassioned gestures that compose them. Its narrative is needlessly replete with dramatic confrontations that persist only to placate an unreasonable demand for quotable quotes. The film is grossly overwritten and its characters are unnecessarily talkative. It’s more likely to be callously forgotten than fondly remembered. It struggles to feign maturity without giving up on any of the melodramatic tropes and cliches that prevent it from being anything other than a purposeless pastime. That’s basically Nuel Naval’s The Love Affair, except that it is a lot more confused than what the simplistic synopsis would have you believe.
Vince and Adie, both perturbed by their respective partners’ infidelity, find comfort in one another. While trying on her wedding gown, Adie (Bea Alonzo), a young lawyer who is engaged to be married to her boyfriend of nearly a decade, sees a video of her fiancé having sex with a model. MANILA, Philippines – Vince (Richard Gomez), a successful neurosurgeon, arrives early at a party, only to discover that Trisha (Dawn Zulueta), his wife of close to 25 years, is cheating on him with his best friend.