I Love You Forever

There are so many red flags right from the start. It's a little too obvious. The two other characters are fine in their roles and I don't mind the main actress but the villain is a pathetic sociopath in the most obvious ways, it's not even a movie. You failed with the plot. It was all there and you messed it up director.

"I Love You Forever" begins with a couple in bed. However, the guy is a total d*** who only wants sex from the woman and doesn't seem to give a darn about her even though there are hints the woman would like more than just late night booty calls. The woman is McKenzie, played by the always good Sofia Black-D'Elia, and she is a law student. She has a quirky roommate and a close guy friend, and at a birthday party for her roommate she meets Finn, played by Ray Nicholson. Finn is a rich, good-looking, ultra successful man who is the lead news anchor for a local TV station. He begins to smoothly woo her and give her gifts and before long they're head over heels with each other. But he suddenly starts to get very needy and clingy and we watch as the relationship unfolds...

I think this was intended to be a deep story about emotional issues in a relationship, but it doesn't succeed. None of it rings true, the dialog sounds like it was written by a Diablo Cody wanna-be (and I was a little surprised to see Diablo listed at the end as a producer!). Finn gets very needy and it never makes sense -- he's rich, good looking, clearly very smooth and confident around women, so his sudden personality change doesn't make sense. But worst of all, Black-D'Elia makes McKenzie incredibly appealing and her repeatedly making incomprehensible decisions is wildly annoying. I mean, literally the last hour of this film is us screaming at the TV, "What are you doing, McKenzie? What are you thinking of?" The movie means to make Finn the "bad guy" and we certainly dislike him, but he never comes off as more than just weird and annoying.

I love supporting small indie films, so it sort of pains me to speak ill of "I Love You Forever." You could definitely do worse, but I suspect that most people just won't find it an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes.

Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani direct and write this dramatic comedy about psychological abuse in relationships. They do so in a dark and ironic way-daring, yes, but perhaps not entirely successful.

Starring Sofia Black-D'Ellia, Ray Nicholson, Jon Rudnitsky, and Cazzie David herself, it follows a disillusioned law student who plunges into what appears to be the true romantic relationship she hoped for. Things slowly change when they begin to discover the true personality behind her ideal man.

The film is daring and poignant, perhaps its greatest strength. However, when it shifts to a deeper drama, it takes on greater force within what seemed to be just another romantic comedy. The decisions are risky and succeed in delivering something we weren't entirely expecting, but in trying to contain its own scale, its final decisions about what we'd been presented with end up leaving us somewhat uncomfortable. The point is understood, but perhaps as viewers, we're not entirely prepared for that sudden shift. In any case, this is a very well-directed and well-written film, which makes it easy to follow. Although we can't overlook the fact that it has flaws that weaken its power, the final result is ultimately quite pleasing.

It's a film that relies heavily on its two leads, especially Sofia Black-D'Ellia, who fully embodies the nuances of her character and the anguish she occasionally experiences within. Ray Nicholson, meanwhile, proves he's the son of the great Jack, and talent runs in his veins, especially when it comes to a role like the one he delivers.

An interesting offering that has some heartfelt moments and others that are somewhat forced, but all in all, it offers a decent film worth giving a chance. It's sharp and ironic, an interesting combination, in times when everything is perhaps more sensitive, but the film's journey to reveal the toxicity of relationships is appreciated.

Displays the torture an unhealthy relationship will put you through. The overwhelming neediness this guy shows is scary and extremely sad. She is in a prison with multiple communication devices on hand and his 1000s of texts and calls an hour. It by default is a horror movie. His psychosis is on full display. Knowing someone who went through something like this gave me flashbacks. The way they slow burn the lunacy is pitch perfect. Watch this film. It's horrific and great at the same time.

For those of you that haven't dated alot and kept things on the surface with relationships, this is an uncomfortably accurate depiction of how gaslighting can microscopically start to eat away at your life.

I recognize the behavior of our Lead Male as someone who studies behavior for a living. He can dramatically escalate every situation and immediately be the victim, which further sends him an abusive emotional spiral.

What he does to MacKenzie throughout the movie is tear her souls apart by quickly love bombing her, drowning her in a false narrative of love and affection and sex, then quickly flipping the mirror and ridiculing her, stalking her and mentally abusing her because she "isn't giving him anything in return."

One has to understand human behavior to enjoy the movie. It's a low budget indie with focus on human condition. It does the job nicely.