A Film That Redefines Emotional Investment in Nollywood Drama
There are Nollywood romantic dramas, and then there is "ALWAYS HERE" (2025). This isn't just another tale of love found and lost; it’s a surgical examination of grief, vulnerability, and the punishing timing of the human heart. Starring Sonia Uche, Chike Daniels, and Deza The Great, this film, at nearly two hours, manages to feel both painfully intimate and grandly cinematic. It’s a movie that asks one profound question: When you finally decide to open your heart, is it too late for the one who has always been there?
As a seasoned critic of Nollywood cinema, I approached this film with cautious optimism, ready to catalog the inevitable clichés. What I found was a narrative that, while built on familiar foundations, executes its emotional architecture with ruthless precision, delivering a gut-wrenching experience that is immediately destined for viral discourse. Here is our highly detailed critical breakdown.
I. The Heart of the Matter: Thematic Resonance and Narrative Logic
The Fear of Vulnerability vs. The Power of Intentional Love
The central thematic conflict of ALWAYS HERE is the agonizing process of moving on. Laura (Sonia Uche), reeling from a tragic loss, embodies the fear of vulnerability. Her emotional world is a fortress, and the film uses this internal struggle as its primary engine. The screenplay beautifully establishes that her trauma isn’t just about the loss; it’s about the fear of living through that level of pain again.
The narrative introduces Mike (Deza The Great) as the disruptive force—an intense, charismatic, and emotionally available new lover. The prompt asks if Mike’s rapid courtship felt justified or like a plot shortcut. The answer is twofold: narratively, it’s a necessary plot accelerator, pushing Laura out of stagnation. Critically, however, his sudden, overwhelming affection often borders on "love bombing." This intensity is initially framed as healing, but the film subtly suggests it’s also a warning sign of a relationship built on immediate need rather than sustained, tested connection.
Evaluating the Emotional Logic of Laura's Decisions
A major point of critique rests on the film’s climax: Laura’s sudden rejection of Mike’s request to move in. Was this emotionally consistent? Absolutely. Her character has spent 90 minutes demonstrating a profound inability to trust her own happiness. The request for such a huge leap of commitment triggers her trauma response, forcing her back into the fortress of emotional isolation. While frustrating for the viewer invested in the Laura/Mike pairing, this action is the most emotionally logical choice her damaged character could make, serving as a raw, honest portrayal of deep-seated post-trauma commitment phobia, rather than a mere device to drive conflict.
II. Character Portrayal and the Cruel Love Triangle
Deji: The Best Friend Who Waited Too Long
Chike Daniels’ performance as Deji, the long-suffering best friend, is the quiet, gravitational center of the film. Daniels masters the art of silent devotion. Every glance, every carefully chosen word, and every hesitant touch communicates years of unspoken love and agonizing self-sacrifice. He is the cinematic embodiment of "Always Here," making his eventual, late-game confession feel not only earned but crushing.
The screenplay allows Deji’s character arc to build organically, showing him taking care of Laura’s emotional and logistical needs without expectation. This deep-seated loyalty makes his final, inevitable heartbreak—when Laura chooses the idea of Mike over the reality of Deji—feel utterly devastating. The cliché of the "best friend in love" is elevated here because the film grants us the painful, intimate space to witness the price of his patience.
The Chemistry Report: Intensity vs. Sustenance
The film contrasts the chemistry of two pairings:
Laura and Mike: Intense, passionate, and visually stunning. This chemistry speaks to instant gratification and physical healing. It’s a burst of cinematic fireworks—brief, beautiful, and ultimately unsustainable.
Laura and Deji (Implied): Their dynamic is one of comfort, ease, and shared history, lacking the dramatic sparks of the new romance. Their connection is less about chemistry and more about cohesion—the kind of bond that builds a life, not just a relationship. The tragedy lies in Laura’s inability to recognize cohesive love when she’s chasing chemistry.
Sonia Uche’s Heavy Lifting
Sonia Uche delivers a career-defining performance as Laura. She successfully navigates the complex emotional tightrope walk required by the script. Her depiction of the drinking/grief scene is raw and unvarnished, avoiding the melodrama often associated with the genre and grounding the film's pain in tangible reality. Crucially, the final scene, where she delivers the hesitant "I love you" to Mike, is layered with doubt, signaling to the viewer (and perhaps to Mike) that she is still battling her own mind. This nuanced portrayal prevents Laura from becoming a purely unlikeable character, instead presenting her as a deeply flawed, human survivor.
III. Screenwriting, Dialogue, and the Runtime Test
Elevating the Cliché and Subverting Tropes
ALWAYS HERE is highly effective because it leans into classic Nollywood tropes only to subvert their predictable outcomes. We have the "instant intense new lover" (Mike) and the "best friend who is secretly in love" (Deji).
The subversion comes not in the plot twist, but in the psychological depth:
Mike isn't a villain; he's just fast.
Deji isn't just heartbroken; his devastation is a commentary on the risk of silent devotion.
The film makes us aware of the trope, allowing us to anticipate the formula, then delivers the emotional consequences with unexpected brutality.
Dialogue: Exposition vs. Authenticity
The dialogue is, for the most part, naturalistic and engaging, especially in the lighter scenes between Laura and her friends. However, the film occasionally falls victim to the need for exposition, particularly during the confrontations between Laura and Mike. These scenes sometimes rely on overly dramatic pronouncements about "fear" and "future," which pull the viewer out of the moment and into a more theatrical space. While effective for emotional impact, a more subtle, implied argument could have elevated the script further.
Pacing and the Necessary Drag
With a runtime stretching close to two hours, the pacing is a critical concern. While the central conflict maintains momentum, the subplots occasionally led to an unnecessary drag. Specifically, the extensive dynamic with Laura’s friend Sarah and her husband—while intended to parallel Laura's journey by showcasing the reality of established marriage versus the fantasy of new love—felt protracted. These scenes, while well-acted, should have been tighter to maintain the high emotional tension of the primary love triangle.
IV. Visual Language and Aesthetic Execution
Cinematography: Light, Shadow, and Mood
The technical execution of ALWAYS HERE is arguably its greatest triumph. The cinematography is consistently exceptional, using visual language to mirror Laura’s internal state. The contrast is stark and intentional:
Loneliness/Grief: Scenes where Laura is alone or with Deji are often rendered in soft, cool, and subdued lighting—a palette of blues and grays that emphasizes her emotional chill.
New Romance: Mike's scenes are saturated with warm, golden hues. The camera work is often more fluid, giving these moments a sense of dizzying, intoxicating fantasy.
This highly conscious use of color grading and light establishes a sophisticated aesthetic that rivals high-budget international productions, firmly placing the film in the upper echelon of Nollywood technical quality.
The Silent Soundtrack: OST and Sound Design
The sound design is judiciously used. The film’s Original Soundtrack (OST) is anchored by a haunting, repeated piano and string motif that is clearly linked to Deji’s silent emotional state. It functions almost as his internal monologue, a low, constant hum of devotion.
While initially powerful, the motif is perhaps overused, often swelling to signal an emotional moment before the characters have earned it on screen. This slight flaw in the sound mixing often removes the joy of discovery for the viewer. Conversely, the high production value—seen in the pristine sets, modern architecture, and sharp costuming—perfectly reflects the upper-class Lagos setting, establishing the characters' status and giving the film a glossy, aspirational veneer.
V. A Mirror to Modern Nollywood and Dating Culture
The New Face of Romantic Drama
ALWAYS HERE does not seek to break new ground in terms of plot structure, but it sets a new benchmark for psychological depth within the Nollywood romantic genre. It takes the established formula and polishes it until it shines, proving that great storytelling can elevate even the most familiar of plots. The film is a significant step forward in technical maturity for the industry, showing a commitment to visual nuance and character complexity that moves beyond simple melodrama.
The Pressure Cooker of Modern Nigerian Dating
Crucially, the film functions as an accurate and slightly uncomfortable mirror to modern Nigerian dating culture. The casual, yet intense, conversations among Laura and her friends regarding "marriage deadlines," the exhaustive list of "specs" a partner must meet, and the societal pressure to move from dating to commitment at breakneck speed, are all painfully real.
The film’s exploration of Mike’s intensity—a man who ticks all the boxes, moves fast, and is "ready" now—highlights the societal push for rapid closure on the marriage question, often overriding the need for genuine emotional recovery. The story is a cautionary tale about choosing societal expectations over personal peace.
VI. Final Verdict and Rating
The Strength and the Flaw
The film’s greatest strength is its commitment to the silent heartbreak of its secondary lead, Chike Daniels (Deji). His performance imbues the story with the necessary tragic weight, transforming a simple love triangle into a profound statement on missed opportunities.
The film's most significant flaw lies in its pacing inconsistencies, primarily the unnecessary length of the supporting subplots, which dilute the core tension that makes the climax so potent.
Conclusion and Call-to-Watch
ALWAYS HERE is a powerful, gorgeous, and emotionally draining experience. It is a cinematic ambush that uses high production value and nuanced acting to justify its melodrama. It's not a light watch, but it is a necessary one for anyone interested in the evolving sophistication of African cinema. If you enjoy films that leave you wrestling with the characters’ decisions long after the credits roll, this is your next must-see.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5 Stars)
Go watch it, but perhaps bring a friend—and a box of tissues.
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