Like & Share (2022) Movie Reviews
Those of you who have watched Dua Garis Biru (2019) are surely familiar with the person who directed the drama film, namely Gina S. Noer. During 2022, Gina released two of her newest works, namely First, Second & Third Love (2022) which was released in January 2022 and most recently Like & Share .
Like & Share stars Arawinda Kirana, winner of the “Best Female Lead” at the 2021 Indonesian Film Festival. Arawinda is not alone in the main role because she is acting opposite Aurora Ribero who is also the main character. Besides Arawinda and Aurora, there are also Aulia Sarah, Jerome Kurnia, Kevin Julio, and other well-known Indonesian actors.
Like & Share is about a pair of 17 year old friends named Lisa (Aurora Ribero) and Sarah (Arawinda Kirana). Apart from being school friends, Lisa and Aurora are also active as ASMR YouTubers. Their friendship was strained when Lisa became addicted to watching porn videos. On the other hand, Sarah also began to distance herself when she dated a boy who was 10 years older than her.
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A “color” film that dares to touch on dark issues that befall women
If you only look at the colorful film poster, you might think that Like & Share is an ordinary youth drama like in general. In fact, this film has a dark theme and women’s issues which is in stark contrast to the film’s colorful visuals.
Like & Share raises various issues that are still considered taboo today, from teenagers exploring their sexuality, pornography addiction, revenge porn , to rape. In addition, this drama film also raises various issues that are more relevant to teenagers, such as the relationship between parents and children, friendship, to how a teenager wants their choices and voices to be heard by those who are older than them.
Gina S. Noer, director and scriptwriter for Like & Share , managed to touch on all these problems in an honest, natural, and not exaggerated way. Moreover, this drama film dares to satirize bluntly how Indonesian law is not in favor of victims of sexual harassment. The film closes with a simple ending but feels powerful and full of meaning.
Lisa, Sarah and Fita; a troubled character who invites sympathy
As previously explained, Like & Share presents Lisa and Sarah as the two main characters. Apart from succeeding in making a point in the form of an honest story, director Gina also managed to make the two main characters problematic but in the end created a feeling of sympathy for the audience as the film progresses.
Of course, this cannot be separated from how beautifully Aurora Ribero and Arawinda Kirana played Lisa and Sarah. Aurora, who plays Lisa, manages to evoke several emotional moments through her acting, especially in the scene where Lisa complains about her mother and the scene where Lisa apologizes to Fita.
Arawinda, who looks stunning in the film Yuni (2021), again displays her capable acting skills as Sarah. Arawinda dared to do the bravest and most sensitive scenes in this drama. Not only excelling individually, Aurora and Arawinda managed to build such strong chemistry .
Besides Lisa and Sarah, there are other supporting characters who also steal the show, namely Fita, played by Aulia Sarah. Fita was initially introduced as a character with a bad image . As the film progresses, we are invited to see how Fita manages and redeems her dark past. Fita seems to be the embodiment of the fall and rise of women in the face of harassment or violence.
Visually pampers the eye with meaningful detailed inserts
The theme raised by Like & Share is quite heavy and depressing . However, this in no way affects the beauty of the cinematography and production design of this drama film. Like & Share even opens with a colorful scene showing Lisa and Sarah’s ASMR compilation. Anyway, from the beginning to the end of the film, the eyes are always spoiled with slick visuals.
If you are observant enough while watching, you can also find many meaningful details throughout the film. Even from choosing the names of the main characters, namely Lisa and Sarah, it turns out that they have the same initials as the title of this film. It’s no secret that Gina S. Noer is characterized by inserting small meaningful details into her films, as she also did in Dua Garis Biru .
The film is full of messages that are hampered by the problems of the main character
Like & Share has been released in theaters since December 8, 2022. However, until this article was released, the film had only received around 37,000 viewers. How can a film full of messages and criticism like this fail to attract many viewers? This is inseparable from the controversy that hit one of the main characters in Like & Share , namely Arawinda Kirana.
In mid-2022, news emerged that Arawinda was suspected of having an affair with a man who already had a wife and children. As a result, many netizens said that they did not want to watch the film starring Arawinda, they even bombed Like & Share reviews on IMDb.
It’s quite unfortunate that a quality film like Like & Share has to feel the impact of cancel culture because of the controversy over the main character. This incident can certainly be a lesson for many parties in taking the right steps to uncover similar incidents in the future.
Apart from the controversy that was perpetrated by the main character, Like & Share actually deserves more attention because the messages and criticisms conveyed by this drama film are so strong and striking. Various women’s worries are summarized in storytelling that is close to reality.
After reading the review of the film Like & Share , are you interested in watching this drama? For those who have watched, don’t forget to share your opinion about this film, OK?
