Director: Tope Oshin
Executive Producer: Tope Oshin
Cast:Sam Dede, Tina MBA,Angel Unigwe, Omozele Gabriel, Omowunmi Dada, Bambi Everson, Barbara Walsh, Daniel Etim Effiong
Year: 2023
If I had a gold bar for each time Netflix released a hyped-up but mid movie, I would already be a well-known gold trader, making millions and funding better moviemakers.
The act of watching Here Love Lies while you’re still on the mend from that Sunday Affair debauchery is the very definition of assault but it happened to me so here I am reviewing a movie that did not only burst my bubble, but also waited until its 75th minute to do it.
Before I go any further, let’s meet the characters.
Young Amanda/ Chimamanda(Omozele Gabriel) is a child from a staunch Christian family whose tribulations began when she opened her legs for her sister’s(Muna ) choir-master beau.
Her sanctimonious father claims that abortion is the only way to make amends for her shameful behavior against her family. The entire family, however, disowns Amanda because she refuses.
Ananda wings it all by herself and becomes a successful, comfortable, travel blogger who works very hard to give a good life to her daughter, Chimnoram(Angel Unigwe).
Older Amanda(Tope Oshin) shares an apartment with Kemi, her coworker, babysitter and only support system.
Every time Amanda’s potential love interests turn out to be another son of Pharaoh, Kemi is the one who consoles her. There is Jide (Daniel Etim Effiong), who conceals his marital status but believes a press conference is necessary to present the gift of a bra . There are also unnamed men who flee once they know Amanda has a daughter.
Despite all of these, Amanda still ends up with a serial killer- cyberstalking, love bombing, and gaslighting. The whole shebang.
So life is unfair, why must we grin foolishly for at least sixty minutes in anticipation of discovering Amanda’s true love before reaching that conclusion?
Plot twist after plot twists that had me saying “Men are scum” and “God when” in the same breath still turned out to be a sham.
Here Love Lies transitions from romance to thriller. It turns into YOU; but with firewood jollof rice and spicy Suya.
We were given some mental exercise, at least in defense of YOU but in Here Love Lies, we are made to numbly watch Amanda travel to a remote location alone with Michael (Tim Shelbourne), a man she has just recently met in person.
A Naija babe o, because of ordinary serenading and Shakespeare quotes.
There is no video call with her friend upon arrival to see the “environment”. No. Just LUDO, chaos, and insulting major reveals.
Imagine just realizing you are in trouble because your beau/host’s housekeeper keeps following you and whispering, “GO,” when in reality, you had gasped in horror when the house brought you to look like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
I wish the movie’s faults ended there.
Amanda is made to reconcile with her family at the exact moment her estranged sister is parading her Aso-Ebi, after failing to find love and nearly losing her life. Chelsea, come on now.
We could have been a little more protected from the blow of the express train of doom that “Here Love Lies” boarded if that section had been edited out.
There are numerous problems with some of the acting too, including that of Tope Oshin herself, particularly in the scene where she tries to escape Micheal in the kitchen. It’s best if she stops the “directing and acting simultaneously” thing. She should concentrate on one thing at a time.
We give Here Love Lies a 3/10 and that’s for having excellent images, at least in the parts from Nigeria.
What do you think of Here Love Lies? Tell us in the comments section.
