Cast: Osas Ighodaro, Eso Dike, Cynthia Clarke, Patrick Doyle, Bridget John, Eyiyemi Rogbinyin, Sunny Baba, Kelechi Ezeji, Floyd Igbo, Asinoby Steven, Kelvin Adebisi
Director: Isioma Osaje
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Run time: 1hr 33mins
Streaming Platform: YouTube
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In an era where the dating scene is rife with subtleties such as compatibility, communication issues, and social media pressures, navigating relationships has become increasingly complex.
Although the digital landscape has taken over traditional relationships, especially with the rise of dating apps, many families still rely on the age-old matchmaking method.
But what happens when the people being match-made are already in love?
Plot
‘In The Name of Love’ follows the life of two individuals from highly successful backgrounds.
Mitchell (Ighodaro) is the publisher of a celebrity magazine who is dedicated to her work and has no time for relationships.
On the other hand, Andrew (Eso Dike) is the scion of a successful businessman who has just taken over the family’s business and is growing it to unimaginable levels.
He is a typical player with serious commitment issues. Love is not on his radar.
Unlike Andrew, Mitchell has overbearing parents who throw money and opportunities at her love interests if only they would break up with her.
The sad thing is, they always fall for it. This has left her perpetually single.
On her birthday, they do it again. This time, she storms out of them and finds herself in a club where she meets a guy.
After small talk, they agree not to reveal their identity as she doesn’t want to jinx it.
He takes her to his home, where they share what was supposed to be a night of passion, but turns out to be one of Mitchell’s drunken rants.
Her male host finds her fascinating, and even though they weren’t expecting it, they start developing feelings for each other.
Having parted ways, both individuals embark on a quest to find each other in what turns out to be a wild goose chase.
While he recruits his friends to hunt down the mystery lady and stalk the club where they met, she repeatedly goes to the out-of-town country home he took her to.
Not knowing that he is the same person she is looking for, Mitchell reaches out to her father (Patrick Doyle) to pull some strings to get Andrew to feature in her magazine.
This gives her father an idea. He poaches Andrew as a potential suitor for his daughter with promises of stakes in his company.
This places both of them in a precarious situation. Should they go with the matchmaking or try to reach out to the mystery person from their night out?
Review
‘In The Name of Love’ is a straightforward romance story explicitly created for a lazy weekend viewing.
Even though Mitchell and Andrew haven’t officially met in the movie, they already detest each other.
Mitchell sees Andrew as a privileged kid with an overinflated ego, especially as he turns down her request for a feature in her magazine.
He, in turn, sees her as a spoiled brat who lives off her daddy’s money.
In some ways, the film can pass for a localised adaptation of the age-old Cinderella story without the lost shoe.
The movie uses dramatic irony as a tool, leaving viewers guessing what’s next as two individuals who already detest each other fall in love without knowing it.
As both find themselves in a romantic paradox, or to use the more popular term, situationship, they recruit their friends to help them track their mystery lover, hoping for one last shot at love.
While ‘In The Name of Love’ is interesting, the movie underwhelms viewers with illogical storytelling in trying to create twists and turns characteristic of such a genre.
How can two high-profile individuals claim not to have ever set eyes on each other?
In addition to lacking plausibility, the story extensively delays the central characters’ meeting each other.
While the producers were understandably gunning for a desired suspense, the film became boring.
Verdict: 6/10
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