Forever Within Us

I don’t have expectations of movies anymore. I don’t. I only have prayers… and hopes… and more prayers. After seeing the trailer of “Forever within us”, I had three prayers: 1) that I’d make it to the end, 2) that Mary Lazarus would finally get a subtle role and 3) that it doesn’t end like the lyrics to the Nelly song “it was only just a dream”. The first is my prayer for every movie, the second is born out of a desire to see something different from her and the last is… well, if you’ve seen nollywood movies you know that sometimes our writers get lazy.

Forever within us is the story of a reunion between friends that exacerbates, then exacerbates and again exacerbates till it reaches a boiling point. It all begins when the host, who told her husband she was only expecting three guests, finds out that there are more people than she bargained for. However, the number is not as much of an issue as the people who actually show up are. Among the crowd are her three old friends, an unknown stranger, a friend’s brother and an ex. Secrets are revealed and emotions get high in this thriller pretty fast.

One of the most blessed aspects of this movie is that it doesn’t have a single dull moment. From the beginning to the end, new developments keep arising that don’t necessarily “keep you at the edge of your seat” but they definitely keep your heart rate up. When you find yourself recovering from one shock, another shock is added right on top of it and back and forth and back and forth until the final moments.

This movie is a bundle of surprises, and even though the trailer seems a bit reminiscent of the 2012 flick “Volunteers“, it is vastly different and much more entertaining. The movie has some strong actors carrying it with splendid performances across the board. It is really difficult to pick a standout performer because so many different people stood out at many different points.

The beauty of the movie is that everyone is given their moment to shine and when the spotlight was on them, boy did they shine. We see the husband-to-all-of-us, Blossom, as a villain in this movie yet again (remember KOHD) and he kills it yet again – all pun intended. It is beautiful to see Bayray acting even when she is not speaking. Mary has a lot of aggresiveness in this movie which she does well, but we’re still hoping to see her in a laid back role. Okey is beyond amazing when the spotlight is on him (how is this guy not in EVERY movie yet?). Kehinde holds it together but she seems stuck in this supporting actress mode. Daniel Lloyd, Frankincense and Bisola also hold their own for the length of the movie.

In the end, my first prayer was definitely answered, the second has still not come to pass and the third…… that’s one you are going to have to watch to see. I will tell you though that the movie is definitely not what you would have expected. It really is emotionally intriguing. It catches you, it holds you, it throws you against the wall. It’s all that and a bag of chips.