SO CONNECTED (2018) Review
Directed by Jason Paul Laxamana
Do you believe in soulmates? Or is it just a word or concept to make us feel better for being alone or in moving on from a breakup? It’s not easy living in the world today, with people judging you not just in the real world but also in social media. That’s why Jason Paul Laxamana’s So Connected gets those who only wants to connect with someone. Someone who understands your flaws and what you’re going through, someone who won’t judge you.
The film tells the story of Karter, an ordinary guy but feels empty even if he has a girlfriend. But when he lost the phone her girlfriend gave her, everything changes.
It’s a perfect pair for Jameson Blake and Janella Salvador as Karter and Trisha. Jameson’s charms balances the emotional weight of what the character of Janella Salvador is carrying. It’s cute and at the same time extraordinary. It does not tell a typical coming of age story, or a romance story, I guess its main theme is to find someone.
Jameson and Janella delivered beyond what is expected from them, director Jason Paul Laxamana delivered beyond what the usual Filipino romance movies can offer. So Connected does not want to tell a love story, rather tell a story about strangers that turn to soulmates.
It may feel a bit lengthy in the first arc that the story seems to move slower, and Jameson’s character Karter may seem stalker-ish in the story but when that issue confronts him, you’ll realize that it seemed natural for someone who feels empty then suddenly finds a person who he can connect to to act that way.
It’s unconventional but what these two characters did is that they found someone, someone they can finally connect to in this time of social media. And that’s something the film provided and more.
4 OUT OF 5 STARS
“So Connected” is now showing in cinemas nationwide from Regal Entertainment, Inc. Rated PG by the MTRCB.