"Alone / Together" Review - A Personable Story for Everyone

A young museum archivist revisits her once dead passion after taking a big slump in life — a story of rediscovering oneself despite the harshness of the reality.

- Photo from IMDb

For the Romantic-Savvy

With all the promotions and teasers released leading up to the movie, I was so certain that this film was going to be one of those typical soft-touch romantic flicks revolving a particular popular loveteam, embellished by the fine prints and creative ingenuity of Antoinette Jadaone.

However, after watching it, I realized that it was something deeper than that and Jadaone should pat herself in the back for a commendable job for all the things great about it but surely not for its glaring impalpable flaws.

- Photo from ABS-CBN

Alone/Together follows a young UP scholar, Tin (Liza Soberano), who was excellent in her studies and a part time tour guide at the National Museum where she met a young medical student from UST, Raf (Enrique Gil), and had a small commotion with him about the correct spelling in Juan Luna's Spoliarium and Eraserhead's classic hit of the same name.

Right off the bat, the movie did not hold back with all the expected kilig tropes and gave a generous taste of it within the first few minutes, for all of the romantic-savvy audiences.

Turn of Events

After a turn of events, the movie jumps 5 years forward, where we see a more grown version of the characters, teasing the audience of what could possibly arose in those gaps that led to them seemingly parting ways somewhere in those years.

At this point, the movie shifted its tone from teenage cutesy vibe to a more mature atmosphere, pulling the audiences back to the reality of it all. This is also the part where Antoinette Jadaone gently reminds the viewers of her strongest suit, and that is character building.

From a setting stand-point, I thought the film gave an excellent glimpse of a UP culture with its colorful parades and plethora of street food choices, popular inside and out of the academe. Of course, the movie wouldn't be complete without a classic score from Eraserhead's Spoliarium to a respectable cover of Rivermaya's 214.

A Character Study

The best thing of this film and was actually a surprise was Liza Soberano herself, boasting her maturity not just as an actor but as a woman. Her performance carried the film through and through without being overly dramatic about it.

- Photo from Rappler

Story-wise, I thought Jadaone focused on Liza's character more than Enrique's, to a point where I realized the film wasn't about their love story but more of one's reignition of her own passion and reviving one's seemingly long-gone childhood dream. This is where the film showed its jaggy edges as Enrique Gil, who was up there at the top billing, was purposely benched and became a plot device to further Liza's arc.

Personally, while the film had its favorable kilig moments, it would still flourish even without it. Their amorous connection wasn't forced in any way, as their chemistry was authentic being a real-life couple, but what was obviously jarring is the fact that they had to deceive fans into thinking this was a LizQuen movie, when in reality it was a Liza Soberano movie — a character study.

Let's Be Reel

Despite its mishaps, the film overall was satisfyingly beautiful. The lessons that they impart in this was very relatable not just for couples but for everyone who's experiencing a bit of a quarter life crisis and got out of touch with themselves.

Alone/Together is Liza Soberano's breakout movie, and I applaud Antoinette Jadaone for giving her such great opportunity to shine. It was a solid film, bar the unnecessary loveteam shtick for fan service, and was easily the best Liza Soberano film ever made.

8/10

Reel Points

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