Garcia sets the standard
As feared, ABS-CBN’s second “Christmaserye,” “The Gift of Love,” failed to match the moving power of its first limited or “seasonal” series, starring Eddie Garcia.
Yes, the series’ resolution was too facile, but it still ended on an emotional high—thanks to Garcia’s perceptive and “knowing” portrayal.
For its part, “The Gift of Love” was about organ donation, with Gerald Anderson’s mom agreeing to buy one of cash-strapped Maja Salvador’s kidneys to save her son’s life. But, “The Gift of Love” was hamstrung by its being visually passive and much too talky, with developments being yakked about instead of shown and dramatized.
This may be a quicker way to shoot a show, but its passivity and lack of dynamism diluted the series’ empathetic hold on its viewers in a major way.
Yes, leads Gerald and Maja are sweethearts “in real life,” so the “chemistry” they generated was bracingly convincing—but, it wasn’t enough to turn the show’s fortunes around.
In addition, Gerald looked healthy and buff, so we couldn’t really believe that he was all that ill and desperate—so, bye-bye to the requisite compassion and feeling-for.
