Over the years, Nollywood has adopted the idea of interracial romance, and why the result is usually either remarkable (Isoken) or average (The Wedding Party 2, Namaste Wahala), the audience always seems to have a good time watching them. Following her five-year break, director Tope Oshin returns to bring this fan-favorite subgenre to our screen, but it fails to meet expectations.
Here Love Lies opens with teenage Amanda getting kicked out of her home for getting pregnant. Years later, Amanda (Tope Oshin), now a successful travel agent, still deals with the emotional trauma of her family’s abandonment. Her love life isn’t so great either. Following an embarrassing incident with her latest boyfriend, Amanda swore off dating and decided to focus on her life as a single mother.
Amanda’s passion for love is reignited when Michael (Tim Shelburne), her American online admirer enters the scene. Their relationship kicks off and Amanda discovers a different kind of love. Following her business trip to New York, Amanda decides to surprise Michael with a visit, one that further strengthens their relationship, but things begin to take a dark turn as they spend more time together.
Here Love Lies presents itself as an emotional drama meet romcom, and this film could have been so much better if that was what it was. The first half of the film set up multiple arcs worth exploring — Amanda’s relationship with her family, her struggle as a single mother in the dating scene, her friendship with Kemi (Omowunmi Dada), and her dynamic with her daughter, Nora (Angel Unigwe) — but all of these are abandoned for a horror story in the dating world as we enter the second half.
Co-writers Ayoade Adeyanju (Taste of Love) and Tope Oshin (Shuga) driven by passion and ambition made a mess of what could have been a simple and beautiful film. The plot is riddled with flaws that mess up the overall experience of the film. The film also introduces subplots that fail to drive the story forward in any way, and instead serve as a means to further elongate the film’s runtime.
The cast performance isn’t the best, as the lead cast struggles to deliver what can be considered a brilliant performance. All hope isn’t lost though, as the supporting cast saves the film, with the standouts being Angel Unigwe (Three Thieves) and Omowunmi Dada (Elesin Oba). Nollywood legends Tina Mba (Tainted Canvas) and Sam Dede (Brotherhood) also delivered beautiful performances in their little screen time.
The film shines in its technical space, with cinematography that captures the beauty of the cities perfectly. It also elevates the indoor scenes by highlighting the emotions of the characters in their respective space. The music choice is outstanding as each one brings a different feel to the scenes.
Here Love Lies is another average interracial-focused film, it has its struggles and flaws but it manages to highlight different societal topics in its little way.