In My Life - (Review) - It's A Must-See Movie!

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Our friends Lindon and Joseph are here in Cebu 'til Tuesday for a vacation and to celebrate their 2nd anniversary. And today, we went to Ayala Mall to watch "In My Life", a movie starring Vilma Santos (Shirley), John Lloyd Cruz (Noel) and Luis Manzano (Mark).

The story revolves around these 3 people. Mark is Shirley's only son and Noel is Mark's boyfriend. Yes, Luis and John Lloyd played gay characters. That was the first shock when I found out. I thought the movie was going to revolve around the 2 of them, you know, how hard it is to accept gay relationships here in the Philippines where most parents are still conservative. I thought it's going to be a coming out story. But, it wasn't.

Shirley was a very stiff mother who works as a librarian. She has 3 kids - Mark who works and lives in New York, a daughter who's in Australia and another daughter who still lives with her but who has her own family. Well, okay, I didn't pay attention to the names of the daughters 'coz I was really focused on the main characters.

Shirley did know about Mark and his sexuality but they never dealt with it or discussed it. I thought the movie was going to be mostly about Shirley and her son Mark. It wasn't. I loved that the movie's plot leaned towards the relationship between Shirley and Mark's boyfriend, Noel. Okay, I'm biased. I love John Lloyd. His acting in this movie was phenomenal.

This movie is a must-see for families out there, especially those who are secretly hurting or have some kind of unresolved differences. It hit me so hard that I was crying a river inside the cinema. There were so many scenes and dialogues that were very familiar. It's like the scriptwriter knew me, my nanay and my brother Kenneth. Damn!

I remember when I decided to move here to Cebu permanently. I knew and I can see how hard it is for my Nanay to see me go and live far away from her. It was so damn hard for me, too. She said, if she only knew that I'd be leaving her, she would've had more kids so she won't be alone. *Sigh* I heard that line in "In My Life". Well, not exactly that but the part when Shirley felt she's still alone even when she had 3 kids.

My nanay used to be so damn stiff, too. She used to treat us as her kids only, like we're her property and we should only do whatever she wants us to do. But something happened between me and her that changed her for good. I don't want to talk about that here but let me just say that she became a friend to my brother and I. She started to laugh with us, joke around with us. She became more forgiving and understanding. My brother kinda experienced more difficult times with her but I was there to keep them both "sane" and avoid fighting each other.

But the part where Shirley's kids felt like they'll never be good enough for her, it kinda hit me hard, too, and more for my brother I guess. My nanay had high expectations of us but she never mocked us or our abilities. She wasn't the all out support nanay but she did her best to be there and support us in our decisions. She's not that expressive, as well. I guess my brother and I got that from her. We don't usually show how proud we are of each other's achievements. My nanay will usually just tell us "That's just good", "Buti naman", or something to that effect but she won't stop talking about how proud she is of us when she's with her friends. In short, mayabang ang nanay ko. Mayabang din kami ng kapatid ko. Hahahaha.

Going back to the movie (sorry, got carried away), it was a perfect fit for Vilma's comeback. As in. And with John Lloyd with her in most dramatic parts of the movie... priceless! Luis also did a decent job in this movie, especially when he was with his real-life mom Vilma at the lake having a picnic. Gosh. Mai was also heavy-hearted during that scene. I guess 'coz she can also relate to that mother-son relationship, the expectations and all.

There was also a HUGE shocker at the end part of the movie. I don't really want to spoil it so I'll just say that John Lloyd slapped Vilma at the end part of the movie. They are both good actors and I don't believe there's any one else who could play Shirley and Noel better.

I didn't really like what happened to Mark at the end but I guess the movie was really more on how Shirley improved as a person and ultimately as a mother. Although it was too late for 1 of her kids (I won't spoil it), at least she finally accepted her mistakes and realized that she needs to do better.

I really love this movie. I can watch it again and again (okay, 3 times I guess) and I'll still cry a river each time. This is a MUST-SEE movie for everyone. I hope they'd show it with subtitles in English for people from other countries to enjoy and watch it.

Thanks, Lindon & Joseph for the treat!

Damn, I miss my nanay and my brother more after watching this movie. Can't wait for October 5th!