MICHEL JOY L.
DE GUZMAN
11- AYALA
EAPP
Summative Assessment
Quarter 1 Week 5
“The Hows of Us” Movie Review: Designed to Rip Hearts Apart
“The Hows of Us” is squarely designed to rip hearts apart right from the opening frames. Far
from the emotional wreckage it delivers, this tribute to adamant love affairs somehow finds a way to
build beautifully choreographed barters between the dreamy and sweet moments of auspicious
romance and the inevitable days of struggle to keep the flame alive.
In the film, George (Kathryn Bernardo) and Primo (Daniel Padilla) are young sweethearts with
long-term plans. Initially told in flashbacks, their love story blossoms under the same roof as
George’s Tita Lola (Susan Africa) willingly lent them. Throughout this period of living together,
George and Primo’s story is condensed into a montage of planning and dreaming together for their
future. The course proves to be exciting. But like in every relationship, difficult days arrive. To
George and Primo, the worst of those days would mean they would have to finally part ways.
What does “The Hows of Us” feel like? It’s like a collection of songs teeming with lines that
speak both the sweet and bitter truths of being in love. Each verse comfortably fits into the mold of a
traditional Star Cinema rom-com. Naturally, the lack of inventiveness threatens even an emotionally
adequate narrative. Still, in the film, the stubborn formula is anchored upon a very reliable linchpin: a
combination of great actors and an insightful take on a highly commonplace storyline. Padilla and
Bernardo have never been better before in their performances here. Their combined artistic efforts
allow their story to acquire a more absorbing power.
As a tearjerker, “The Hows of Us” creates a lasting emotional impact, and it entirely earns the
tears to the film’s credit. It is finding its place in the very same territory where the likes of “One More
Chance” and “Starting Over Again” made their mark, the film dances in between the progressing
levels of a bittersweet romance. It works on a particular frequency primed to elicit tears, but the effort
is hardly offensive to encourage distaste. Cathy Garcia-Molina lends the story a self-conscious
quality in Primo and George’s journey as a young couple trying to save their relationship and
themselves from the ruins of their respective personal disasters, only to get tainted by some
unnecessarily long-filler scenes that are practically mainly employed for visual purposes.
“The Hows Of Us” follows the story of couple Primo (Daniel Padilla) and George (Kathryn
Bernardo) who are in a long-term relationship and are already building and planning their future
together. Their love will be put to the test as their relationship faces hurdles - from misunderstandings
to different career paths, among others. George was a pre-med student when she first met Primo at a
debate in college. Primo eventually proved his worth to George with his persistence and passion, and
they became a couple. They agreed to live together in the house bequeathed to them by George’s dear
departed Tita Lola (Susan Africa). While Primo’s dream to be a musician seemed to be going
nowhere, so was George’s dream to become a doctor. So one stormy night, along with their escalating
bills and disconnected electricity, the stifling pressurized situation at home simply exploded between
the two of them. In the first half of this film, we witness a sweet romantic relationship steadily
becoming toxic because of Primo’s apparent irresponsibility, insensitivity and selfishness, which
caused poor George to make one sacrifice after the other. This was a one-sided unfair relationship
where the imbalanced contributions of the two parties eventually caused it to self-destruct, and a
separation was clearly bound to happen. The second half of the film documented the efforts of Primo
to win George back, which involved the rather absurd condition of putting an actual boundary line
using tape across the center of their house and their furniture. Should George accept back a person
whom she felt was insufferable and inconsiderate, someone who set her life back for several years?
Her friends Mikko (Juan Miguel Severo) and Awee (Ria Atayde) advise her on the pros and cons, but
George had to make the final decision. There was a side story about George’s younger brother
Yohan. His father Gregory had long left their mother Baby (Jean Garcia) to raise her two kids, so
Yohan never saw him before. Impending blindness because of diabetic retinopathy heightened his
desire to search for his father. This angle of the film would bring the story to picturesque Amsterdam
in the Netherlands. Darren Espanto gave a promising debut performance as Yohan. Kit Thompson
played cousin Darwin, their (and our) dutiful tour guide there. Back in the Philippines, they were
officially able to sell the house and the buyer wants to move in right away. They agree and started
hauling their belongings out of the house. While moving out their remaining things, Georgina
stumbles upon Primo’s gift for her birthday that she trampled on from the day they separated a few
years ago. She opens it and finds a vinyl record and a heartfelt written letter inside. Primo wrote the
letter to express to her how sorry he was for all his short comings and that he sees and appreciates all
of her hard work for both of them. Georgina falls in love again and shortly sees Primo. The two share
a kiss, sealing their reconciled relationship.
Kathryn Bernardo brings an obvious and hand compelling conviction as the emotionally
betrayed and embittered George. Bernardo plays a vital part in the film’s genuine effort to impart
mature elements to a stubborn formula. Through her evident investment, the film succeeds in doing
so. In her previous films, Kathryn already offered glimpses of her ability as an actress, some of which
were already too powerful to make her memorable. The part where George says to Primo, "And what
makes that sorry different from all your other sorries before?" Here, she completely bares the entire
array of her rare capacity to meander across varying intensities of practically the same emotion.
George is undoubtedly her most remarkable performance as an actress. Padilla clings to almost the
same level of restraint but with a more affecting charismatic presence. Like his singular portrayal as
Ely in the Olivia Lamasan-helmed “Barcelona: A Love Untold,” he gives Primo absolute confidence
to convincingly tread through the tender and rough moments of the character. There is an initial
rejection of the idea to dive into the depths of Primo, with subsequent proceedings conveniently
suggesting he deserves the blame. But towards the film’s resolution, the film plunges headfirst into
the character’s depths, giving it its sort of redeeming moment, which Daniel Padilla breathlessly pulls
off with a heart-crippling resonance.
Even with all its shortcomings and tight adherence to the conventional, there is a distinctive
feature in “The Hows of Us” that makes the idea of pulling off this kind of romantic drama, over and
over again, irresistibly appealing. It’s a bruised practice of its kind, but that’s exactly what makes it
extremely relatable. The film, overall, is brutal scrutiny of relationships and how personal dreams can
either destroy or create them. The brutality wouldn’t need to be excused because, by the time the
closing credits roll, it wouldn’t be difficult to admit that the pain is necessary for the film to get all its
beautiful, albeit painful, truths across. Kathniel’s film may be outright manipulative, but the tears are
coming from a valid place.
