Missed Connections Review: It is the latest Filipino comedy-drama film released on Netflix. Directed by Jelise Chung, the screenplay is co-written with Gilliann Ebreo. The film has a runtime of about 1 hour and 47 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the film includes Miles Ocampo as Mae, Kelvin Miranda as Norman, Chienna Filomeno as Julia, JC Santos as Mark, Matet de Leon, Jericho Arceo and others. It follows the story of a girl trying to get the person she likes, like her back.
Plot: A lonely young woman seeks the help of a website called Missed Connections – a forum that allows people to connect and find each other – to search for a man after what seems to be an unforgettable encounter. But is he really what she’s looking for?
While the description of the film calls it an unforgettable encounter, I would call it a creepy and obsessive encounter. Mae is a struggling T-shirt designer who accidentally takes Norman as a supermarket employee and asks him to get a product on the shelf. When Mae realises her mistake, she suddenly feels attracted towards the kind stranger who even put things on the shelf in order, to selflessly help the staff. While many would take this meetup back in their good memories, Mae hopes to seek out the guy on a forum which is made exactly for that.
Even the stars align in her favour when the guy also posts on the app looking for his ‘Grocery Girl’. However, when they eventually meet, the person he was looking for was not Mae. Yet they decide to become friends and he even helps her revamp her T-shirt-selling website. While Norman is still in search of his fated encounter, Mae makes it her mission to get him to like her back, more than a friend. What she doesn’t realise is that her fixation on the cute stranger might be stemming from various issues from her life, that she hasn’t dealt with.
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Initially, Mae’s character was quite appalling. She is the embodiment of ‘cringe’ in every sense but she grows on you. She is like a child in an adult’s body who has to deal with these big issues like making enough money, self-improvement, and others. But instead of getting her life in order, she is looking for an escape. That comes from chasing Norman, who has everything sorted out.
Even when Mae’s consciousness, which is personified by her ex-lover Mark, stops her from making the silly mistakes – she ignores everything and decides to indulge in the delusion. One would ask why, but it’s comforting to her and take her away from all the problems she hasn’t dealt with.
Even though one feels second-hand embarrassment from Mae’s actions, the end is somewhat satisfactory. The message of the story would have become quite toxic and enabled Mae’s behaviour – if her character didn’t have a development or her advances towards Norman were shown as successful. What the film presents is quite realistic in today’s scenario, where young people get infatuated with someone to the point of intoxicating obsession. Through Mae’s journey, one can certainly learn a few things.
Missed Connections Review
It’s a fun, lighthearted watch that one can tune into when looking for something casual. Despite wanting to dislike Mae’s character, you won’t be able to do so and will find yourself empathising with her. The creative use of Mark’s character as Mae’s thoughts/consciousness is definitely unique and made it more entertaining.
Rating: 3/5
Missed Connections is available for streaming on Netflix.
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