Summary
Gorgeous locations, good-looking girls, the romance between two opposite characters — Without Saying Goodbye is the cliched romantic movie with no emotional connection.
A wealthy, young, handsome boy comes to a place to convert it into a multimillion-dollar property to fulfill his dream project. Still, a girl comes into the picture, resisting this and changing the boy by giving him another perspective on life. I think we are all familiar with this kind of narrative, more or less. This same old story of self-discovery is the subject of the Netflix film Without Saying Goodbye.
It is a romantic drama film directed by Peruvian director Bruno Ascenzo (How to Get Over a Breakup) and stars Maxi Iglesias and Stephanie Cayo (Yucatán). A very straightforward narrative about the budding romance between these two opposite characters is the story’s central premise.
Though the leads share good chemistry, the handling of the romance is cliched and outdated. After seeing it, I can recall several Bollywood films from the past resembling the similar dynamics between the love interests.
There is a bit of Bunny in Ariana (Stephanie Cayo’s character), Arjun in Salvador (Maxi Iglesias’s character), and elements of the Imtiaz Ali films in the movie. But the problem is that the situations and moments are poorly executed and do not excite the audience.
The screenplay is fast and to the point. But to do so, it races from scene to scene before transcending to you. Though it doesn’t bore you and keeps going without dragging, it falters in the basics of filmmaking—capturing the emotions on the screen. The characters talk too much in the film, sometimes too unnecessarily, which often becomes difficult for me to follow in the subtitles.
Among the performances, Maxi Iglesias’s acting works for me. He maintains both the decorum of a wealthy businessman’s aura and the search for the meaning of life quite well. However, the other half of the lead pair, Stephanie Cayo, disappoints me greatly. She looks gorgeous, like a diva in the movie, but in the most pivotal scenes, where acting prowess is needed, she falters the most. Her dialogue delivery also seems quite pretentious and has no conviction.
The one thing that stands out throughout the movie is the desirable locations of Peru and the gorgeous cinematography that captures them. Also, the use of music in the film is good. It is used in exact moments, making us feel something about the characters, otherwise lacking the emotional buildup.
Without Saying Goodbye is another same old movie about self-discovery, and with no emotional connection, it is quite a hectic ride for me.
Read More: Without Saying Goodbye Ending Explained
