‘Family of Two (A Mother and Son Story)’ Review: The bittersweet slices of life

FAMILY OF TWO (A MOTHER AND SON STORY) Review
Directed by Nuel Naval

How close are you to your parents? What if it’s just the two of you for a very long time? One parent, one child together for more than a decade. Doing the same routine, saying the same things over and over again. Everything’s fine, everything is perfect. Why should any thing change? But things happen. Family members grow apart and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Family of Two (A Mother and Son Story) shares these sentiments. If everything’s perfect, why gamble on things that might risk your relationship with your family. It may seem simple from afar but Family of Two will go deeper emotionally in unexpected ways – ways that most of us can relate to.

The film perfectly captures the dynamics of an overprotective mother and son. Ms. Sharon Cuneta being a single mother who dedicated her life for her son and Alden Richards, the mama’s boy who loves his mother too much that he doesn’t want to disappoint and hurt her which affects every decision in his life. You can feel the connection between the two as mother and son. You can also feel the tension whenever they have things they’re hesitant to talk about.

The film, at times, feels like something out of your own family story. The silly arguments, the cute conversations, the uncomfortable discussions, Family of Two gets that.

The tandem of writer Mel Mendoza-del Rosario and director Nuel Naval knows their story and knows how to execute it. It may not be big visually but you get to have this surprising emotional realizations that’s bigger than what you can expect.

The things that are hard to let go. And these are the things that doesn’t need changing because everything is okay, everything is doing fine. What makes the film special is that the cry-worthy moments are the ones you didn’t expect. Such a heartfelt story for the family.

It paints a picture of a mother and son being too affectionate. But it doesn’t present it in a negative way and it kind of made me realize that it felt better. Showing affection too much made me realize all the feelings I could have given or received from the people I love.

It may feel too much at times but if you’ve built your world with just that person, everything really is harder. It’s difficult to be in between hard decisions that affects either your present or your future. Being a child is as difficult as being a parent and Family of Two presents those predicaments in a heartwarming and bittersweet way.

4 OUT OF 5 STARS

‘Family of Two (A Mother and Son Story) opens December 25, 2023 from CineKo Productions. Rated G by the MTRCB. An official entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2023.