Geekatana Movie Review: Hello, Love, Goodbye

I'll be frank I have no intention of watching Hello, Love, Goodbye. I was more of dragged into it by someone. I haven't watched even the trailer or even read a short synopsis on what the film was about. My sister wanted to see it so I sort of just went to see the film just to accompany her.

I'm clearly not a big fan of love story movies specially local made films since they tend to be the typical cliche romcom with unoriginal or over used plots. But still judging a film this early without seeing it was bad so I kept an open mind and went into the theater hoping for the best. Also minor spoilers.

Hello, Love, Goodbye is about the love story of Joy (Bernardo) and Ethan (Richards), Filipino workers based in Hong Kong. Ethan, a bartender, is keen on romantically pursuing Joy, a domestic helper who is wholly dedicated to providing for her family. It is directed by Cathy Grace Molina and is produced under Star Cinema.

The story is surprisingly good and definitely a step up from the usual romcom you usually see in a lot of the local movies of this type. It delves more into the character struggles of the main character individual struggles. The plot was pretty on the nose and at times the scenes got too real and serious that it will no doubt tug at your heartstrings more than once.

The movie does start out slow being your typical romcom setting. The plot gradually becomes its own thing around halfway throughout the film and drives everything home by the third act specially near the last few minutes of the film. Hats off to Star Cinema and maam Cathy Molina for going the extra mile and not sugarcoating the plot having a solid ending that most viewers would want a sequel of.

As character development goes it does just centers around the two main characters Joy and Ethan with the other characters being plot device or comedic relief. Ethan character does start off as bad due to bad acting and bad dialogue. He does warm up and gets better specially in the third act of the movie. Also a lot of the jokes are overused and I find myself laughing more at a few one liners delivered here and there.

Visually the film is stunning and bright showing much of Hongkong sights and landmarks. There are even a few scenes that I find excellently done in a cinematic point of view in terms of camera angle and execution. There are a few dips in cinematic quality here and there in terms of lighting and camera angles but nothing atrocious that will take you out from enjoying the movie as a whole.

The movie isn't perfect though as some scenes could have been shorten or cut out already and some scenes could have been longer. Namely a certain beauty contest that overstayed its welcome. It serves nothing but introduce a character that was never again mentioned ten minutes later. In fact said character never again appeared in the film after that. Wasted time and potential that could have gone for other things. Also the side plot about Joy's family was never fully resolved in a convincing manner.

Hello, Love, Goodbye is a really good film that clearly could have been better. There are certain issues that wasn't fully resolved plot wise but overall the movie was entertaining and clearly a step up in the right direction. If you are a fan of the actors or actresses in the film than go watch this film. If you like a romcom that has a bit more to offer than this is a film you should definitely see.