"Love and Life" Bites More Than it Can Chew With its Ambitious Take on Grief, Life, and Friendship
What could have been a poignant exploration of grief and relationships transforms into a missed opportunity.
Written by: Brenda Ogbukaa-Garuba
Directed by: Reuben J. Reng
Starring: Rita Dominic, Michelle Dede, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Ray Adeka, Chidi Mokeme, and many more.
As the curtains rise on Love and Life, it's immediately evident that the energy is lacking, delivered by two of Nollywood's seasoned actors in lackluster performances. Despite my efforts to approach the movie with an unbiased perspective, it swiftly justifies why it landed on Prime Video with minimal fanfare. Love and Life struggles to infuse vitality and enthusiasm into its narrative.
The central plot revolves around Abike (Rita Dominic), recently widowed and tasked with navigating her grief while assisting her two friends βIvy (Michelle Dede) and Osas (Nse Ikpe-Etim)β in resolving their relationship and life issues.
While the thematic terrain Love and Life aims to explore is vast and promising, the writing and direction fail to elevate it. The dialogues are uninspiring and often feel forced. Despite the impressive filmographies of the three leads, Nse Ike Etim, Michelle Dede, and Rita Dominic, the movie neglects to capitalize on their artistry or chemistry. The interactions, especially among the friends, lack authenticity, and the purported romantic involvements with their on-screen better halves are unconvincing.
Nearly a quarter into the movie, the narrative fails to engage in any meaningful way. Love and Life emerges as a tedious experience, squandering the potential of its three leading ladies. It seems to exist primarily to capitalize on platforms like Prime Video hungry for new content, rather than offering a substantive exploration of middle-aged women navigating love, life friendship, and the heavy topic that is grief.
What could have been a poignant exploration of grief and relationships transforms into a missed opportunity, and Love and Life feels more like a project that should have remained in development hell. Identifying a bright spot in this movie is a challenge, perhaps apart from its ambition to address grief, even if the execution falls short. In a peculiar way, that might be the movie's solitary accomplishment.