“Dahil ako ang mas nagmahal, ako ang laging naghihintay.”
When Eric says this in The Loved One, it lands like a punch. Or maybe an excuse. As the credits rolled, I found myself whispering to the empty theater: Bakit ang bigat? Ang hirap makipag-break talaga, ‘no?
Directed and written by Irene Emma Villamor, this film stars Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales in a story that hits exactly where it hurts. It’s a love story about extremes: passion that overwhelms, fights that explode, and moments that sting because they feel painfully real. It’s a relationship that is both loud and tender, both beautiful and messy.
Loud Love, Loud Lessons
From the opening scene, it’s clear that this love is anything but subtle. Eric (Jericho Rosales) and Ellie (Anne Curtis) love in extremes. They fight passionately, make up passionately, and even their silences are charged with emotion. Every interaction feels alive, volatile, and impossible to ignore.
Unlike quiet, cinematic portrayals of heartbreak, The Loved One embraces the chaos. The love in this story isn’t easy or neat—it’s loud. It’s the kind of love that makes your heart race one moment and ache the next. You watch, hoping they’ll finally understand each other, only to realize that understanding sometimes comes too late.
And yet, the film doesn’t shy away from tenderness. Between the arguments, there are moments of vulnerability that cut deeper than the fights. These scenes linger in your mind, like memories you replay long after they happen. They make you reflect on your own experiences of waiting, hoping, and loving someone with all your heart, sometimes more than they can return.
Zodiac Signs, Views, and the Small Details That Matter
One of the surprising layers of The Loved One is how it incorporates small, relatable details that deepen the story. Eric is a Leo, Ellie a Gemini. Their personalities clash and complement each other in subtle ways: his intensity, her curiosity, his adaptability, her stubbornness.
The film also touches on their views on life, love, and even politics—small disagreements that escalate because they matter to them. These aren’t just background details; they shape the rhythm of their relationship. You feel it when they argue about seemingly trivial things, only to realize these debates reveal how differently they see the world.
It’s a reminder that love isn’t just about chemistry or attraction. It’s about navigating differences, confronting your own ego, and figuring out if compromise feels like growth or surrender. The movie captures that complexity beautifully, without preaching or oversimplifying.
Writing & Directing: Villamor’s Masterpiece
What elevates The Loved One is the writing and directing of Irene Emma Villamor. Villamor, known for popular romance films like Sid & Aya: Not a Love Story and Camp Sawi, has a knack for capturing the messy, beautiful, and complicated aspects of love. Every scene in The Loved One is deliberate, every line carefully crafted, and every frame serves the story.
Lines like Eric’s famous quote resonate because they feel earned, not scripted. The audience doesn’t just hear the pain, they feel it. You can relate to the frustration, the confusion, and the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, things will turn out differently.
By weaving her signature style of emotionally immersive storytelling into The Loved One, Villamor proves once again why she’s one of the most talented voices in contemporary Filipino cinema.
Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales: Chemistry in Chaos
The performances in this film are a study in controlled chaos. Anne Curtis portrays Ellie as someone who is strong yet vulnerable, passionate yet wary. Her reactions, from subtle glances to moments of emotional withdrawal, capture the complexity of loving someone who is both her world and her challenge.
Jericho Rosales brings Eric to life as a man caught between intensity and fragility. He loves with everything he has, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. You watch him, and you understand why he waits, why he hopes, and why he falters. Together, Curtis and Rosales create a chemistry that feels real, not just because they are convincing as a couple, but because the emotions on screen echo the emotions you’ve felt in your own relationships.
So… Sino Nga Ba Ang Mas Nagmahal?
By the final act, the film doesn’t give neat answers. It doesn’t tell you who’s right or wrong. Instead, it leaves you with reflection, lingering emotion, and the bittersweet ache of understanding that love is not always fair.
The tension of The Loved One is its brilliance. Loving someone fully is complicated. Understanding them completely may be impossible. Yet, the journey is worth watching—if only to feel, deeply, what it means to care, to hope, and to forgive.
The Perfect Movie for Heartbroken People
If you’ve ever loved too much, loved too loudly, or loved someone who sees the world differently than you, The Loved One will resonate in a way that stays long after the credits roll.
Because in the end, love isn’t always gentle. Sometimes, it hits like a drum. And sometimes, it hurts exactly because it’s so loud—and so undeniable.
