October 15, 2022
Blue (Diego Loyzaga) was an antisocial science nerd in school. He kept to himself most of the time. When there was a group assignment, he would rather do the whole project by himself so he can be left alone to have his peace and quiet. He lived with his sick mother Chu (Yayo Aguila) and the family of his aunt. Even at home he was short-tempered, miserable and would usually shut himself up in his room in his books.
During one out of town ecology trip, his group mate Yanyan (Sue Ramirez) was injured when her foot was wounded by sharp mollusks on the seabed. Blue stayed with her and tended to her wounds. When they returned back to school, Yanyan wanted to make up for Blue's kindness by cooking him her special viands. However, Blue rudely rejected her overtures of friendship, even citing the scientific basis why her food was unhealthy for him.
Sue Ramirez's Yanyan lived with her mother Helen (Marnie Lapuz) and her younger siblings. Her father Mario (Garry Lim) is serving a jail sentence for a serious crime. However, Yanyan remains to be idealistic and cheerful (as most of Ramirez's roles seem to reflect her bubbliness). Yet, Yanyan carried inside her a dark harrowing secret and sense of guilt, and Ramirez pulled off that sensitive confession scene with remarkable emotional restraint.
Diego Loyzaga's Blue was quite a departure from his recent roles. Loyzaga was convincing as a genius with low EQ, delivering those challenging jargon-filled lines about a range of topics from nutrition, astronomy, physiology, and even law, in an amusing deadpan manner. Blue also harbored serious mental anguish borne out of frustration that threatened to push him over the edge, and Loyzaga was able to see that darkness through.
Add "How to Love Mr. Heartless" to that list of writer-director Jason Paul Laxamana's best romance films to join "100 Tula Para Kay Stella" and "Between Maybes". His story was deceptively simple, yet so complex in substance. His eloquent script delivered everything from biting sarcasm, supreme sacrifice and heartfelt romance. His beautiful camerawork, effective motivation of actors and excellent emotional crescendo deserve awards. 8/10.
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