Easy chemistry leavens sensitive subject matter for Gerald-Kylie film

Scene from “Unravel”

Gerald Anderson has denied rumors that he and girlfriend, Julia Barretto, have gotten married secretly during the holidays, pointing out that a special moment like that ought to be shared and celebrated with people they care about.

“It’s not true. I will never do that to Julia or to the public. [Getting married] is not something that you hide from people. We will get to that eventually, but I just can’t say when,” Gerald told Inquirer Entertainment during a recent media gathering to promote his latest film, RC delos Reyes’ “Unravel.”

“Is Julia the one? Yes, she is. It’s just that when I settle down, I want to start a family with her right away. Before that happens, I want to make sure that my own family is OK emotionally and financially. I’m already close to achieving that, but I would like to push the timeline further just to make sure,” he explained.

Gerald added that he celebrated New Year’s Day with Julia and her family. “We just ate and hung out. I’m already at an age when I just want everything to be quiet and chill. I prefer quality time and good conversations,” he said. “It’s also important to me that I’m close to Julia’s family. I guess it’s important to everybody—you learn to love the family of the person you love and hope that they will love you back.”

Asked to assess his 2022, Gerald said: “It was a great year. Personally, there were a lot of blessings and opportunities to learn from. My business did OK, too. Even though I had a hectic schedule, it was good that I was also able to find time to rest and recover.”

For 2023, Gerald said he planned to focus more on his businesses. He also hopes to be given a chance to work on another teleserye and a big-screen project.

“Unravel,” a movie that Gerald did with Kylie Padilla, was shot entirely in Switzerland. It attempts to tackle the controversial and sensitive issue of suicide as the love story of Lucy and Noah unravels.

‘Always be nice’

As to what he learned about the issue while working on the film, Gerald said: “To be honest, it’s really a validation of what I already know—that we should all be kind because we don’t know what other people are going through. We’re all struggling to solve our own problems. I’m with all of you right now, sharing stories and laughing with you, but I don’t know what you will have to go through when you leave the venue. That is why it’s important to always be nice, respectful and kind. Also, if you are around people who are rude or toxic, just walk away. Don’t waste your time by spending it with them.”

Kylie, meanwhile, said she treated the subject matter very carefully because she didn’t want to appear like they were romanticizing it. “I agreed to do the project because the script is character-driven. I really felt for my character, Lucy. We’re watching the movie through her eyes. This is her journey,” she began.

“I don’t want to discuss it too much, but I promise that when you watch it, you’ll understand. Reading the script gave me hope and a positive outlook in life. This movie would be a good conversation starter because suicide is real,” she told reporters.

“Lucy’s journey is difficult, but I think Kylie’s fans and her home network (GMA 7) will be very proud of what she did here,” Gerald added. “Her role is intense and physically demanding, but Kylie pushed on. That’s when I saw her passion and love for her craft.

“When we weren’t shooting our scenes, or as soon as the director says, ‘Cut!,’ she returns to her fun self. She is very professional. She made work very easy for me. Add to this the fact that we shot the movie in Switzerland, which is a chill place,” he pointed out.

Collaboration

Kylie said she still couldn’t believe she was given an opportunity to work with Gerald, who is a talent of rival network ABS-CBN. “I’ve been watching his films for a while now. It’s an honor to have worked with someone I admire. During the shoot, I observed how he worked, and I learned a lot,” she said. “He is humble. I thought he’d have a huge ego, that he’d be conceited, but he’s just very quiet. I learned from him in a sense that you don’t need to be loud to be someone big in this industry.”

Gerald said he was glad that he and Kylie eventually became close because of the project. “The first time we met was for a look-test with Direk RC. The next meeting was already in Switzerland. It was that quick. Good thing it was easy to work with her. Swabe ang lahat because she’s also like one of the boys,” he said.

“The set-up kind of helped us,” added Kylie, “because our characters also didn’t know each other at the start of the movie. They become close as the movie progresses. I think Gerald and I were able to maximize that.”

“Unravel” is one of three collaborations between MavX Productions and Star Cinema. The other two are “Swing,” which stars Jane Oineza and RK Bagatsing; and “I Love Lizzy,” which will be shown in cinemas nationwide starting Jan. 18 and features Carlo Aquino and Barbie Imperial.