A LAGOS LOVE STORY: A chaotic battle between love and the dangerous world of fame.

The recent inkblot production a Netflix film, “ A Lagos love story”. Partially inspired by one of Nigeria’s star musicians, Ayra Starr’s song  Lagos Love Story released in 2024 portrays a romantic plot between our two leads.

In Lagos love story, the director Chinaza Onuzo delivers an intriguing story of the chaos between love, ambition and desperation in the bustling city of Lagos.

The movie stars young actors Mike Afolarin and Jemima Osunde who have also led inkblots production in the past with Mike Afolarin in Far From Home (2022) and Jemima in New money (2018).

PLOT OVERVIEW

The plot begins with Promise Quest (Jemima Osunde) an event planner earnestly pursuing a contract for an art and culture festival in Lagos which she believes will change her life forever. 

Drowning in debts to the Federal Government in millions, a sick father( Kalu Ikeagwu) and a house with heartwarming memories of her late mother which is about to slip through her fingers, promise has all hands on deck with determination to get the contract from King’s group.

King Kator (Mike Afolarin) a rising Afro beat star with the signature two coloured dreads and the street style dress sense, an arrogant attitude and an equally annoying manager Mayowa whose birth name is Kazeem Toriola is absolutely reckless and cannot be contained.

Will all that change?

Their first real encounter was one of chaos, hatred and dislike for each other because of an apology she forced him to make on camera to her sister Favour and Adanna, a nice lady who came to their rescue when they were about to be mistreated.

After her successful handling of the situation, an opportunity she has missed due to tardiness from her potential employee Fadekemi Rhodes (Linda Ejiofor) she catches the attention of Fadekemi’s boss Achike Ezeoma ( Ik Osakioduwa) who give her a second chance that takes off the roof in happiness.

But that happiness is short lived when she realizes she need to keep reckless king Kator in check for just Four days and the contract is a tempting offer to get to her goal so she takes it determined to get the job done.

But love is around the corner in these four days. Is it possible?…

PERFORMANCE AND CHEMISTRY.

Afolarin does an excellent job in displaying the struggle that comes with the silent oppression, lies in the world of fame and the desire for genuine connection. His character displays his affection for the female lead and how her coming into his life changed his life. Afolarin’s character solidified his feelings with a song he writes in her honour ‘settle down’

Jemima, on the other hand, equally delivers her role perfectly portraying determination and desperation to keep that which is precious to her (her family home).

The chemistry between the two characters is interesting to watch but not as breathtaking and captivating as most viewers would have loved to see on screen.

A Lagos love story…

CINEMATOGRAPHY AND THEMES.

The brilliant cinematography of ‘a Lagos love story’ captures the essence of Lagos, the bustling streets, the vibrant people, the atmosphere and setting of the film and an equally well written script

The movie generally utilizes the theme of love, ambitions and challenges of balancing personal desires and professional responsibilities in a fast-paced society.

NEGATIVE CHARACTERS AND SUPPORTING ACTORS

Some of the key supporting roles we see in this movie is the leads sister Favour who is a designer with a brand known as Sassy By Favour (SBF). Favour plays an outgoing character and the slightly reckless one among the two sisters who has a best friend that showed his clear yearning to be more than just her friend.

His perfect view of her was showcased in form of pictures at a display gallery which she (Favour) complemented but unfortunately the movie builds only around the main leads and no progress on love was shown on Favour’s end.

The first negative character we see is her potential boss Fadekemi Rhodes who does not waste an opportunity to demean promise reminding her of her incompetence with threats of firing her if King Kator misbehaves.

Another negative character we see is Adanna ( Uchechi Montanna) who almost deceives Favour into signing 80% of her brands profit into her name claiming she got her the recognition. She (favour) walks away from Adanna’s offer disappointed because she considered her a friend.

Favour also plays a slightly dissapointing role as she does not agree with her on her plans to keep the house they grew up in and treasures so much. With the anticipation of loosing the house, rescue comes in form of king Kator as he clears off the debt. 

The movie concludes in a heartwarming scene of promise confessing her love to king Kator publicly at a performance show of his and they share a kiss as king Kator proceeds to sing a song he wrote especially for her.

In conclusion, A Lagos Love Story is a thoughtful exploration of love and ambition in a city that does not know how to slow down. Although some viewers wished the plot would have been developed a little more around the supporting characters as it would have added more Depth to the plot. The movie explores a plot that might be too good to be true in real life 

But then again, Love sometimes happens in unexpected places…