On April 15, 2022, Loving Amanda Movie by Laju Iren premiered across the nation, to the delight of thousands of people who had purchased tickets and were eagerly awaiting the premiere.
Laju Iren, the writer of Loving Amanda had raised the anticipation of her fans when she announced in February 2022 that Loving Amanda would be premiered via a virtual cinema. The anticipation was further heightened by a well put together and intriguing trailer that was released some weeks after the initial announcement.
The virtual cinema is a most welcomed innovation and was well executed. This is judging from my experience and the experiences of others I knew who purchased tickets to see the movie. Movie tickets were purchased on the movie’s website (lovingamandamovie.com).
Loving Amanda the movie is an adaptation of the 2018 romantic novel Loving Amanda, which was written and produced by Laju Iren. I had read the book Loving Amanda a few months prior to the release of the movie and I was definitely looking forward to seeing the movie. I was enthralled and captivated by Amanda’s story, which was a story of her transition from abuse and hopelessness, to love and redemption.
On the release date of Loving Amanda, I cliqued up with some of my friends for a watch party. In my opinion, I believe that the best way to enjoy a movie like Loving Amanda is to see it with other people. Everything was set and ready- food, drinks and pop-corn (the famous snack of all movie viewing experiences). Then most importantly, a room filled with people who were more than eager to see Loving Amanda.
I have to admit at this point that I was one of the weird guys in the room, acting all smug because I had read the book. Well, I guess I should have spoken less, as nothing would have really prepared me for how the story would be interpreted on screen. Asides from a few roles that I felt should have been better executed, every actor in Loving Amanda brought in their A-game.
In addition to the sublime acting from the likes of Blossom Chukwujekwu (Goch), Teniola Aladese (Amanda), Chinonso Arubayi (Miriam) and Bayo Royale (Gbenga), there are some really ‘mad’ shots to look out for throughout the movie Loving Amanda. But when you put all the pieces of this story together, you cannot ignore that a good director had to be behind how Loving Amanda turned out. Loving Amanda was directed by the award-winning director Michael ‘Ama Psalmist’ Akinrogunde, who has been rightly nicknamed the Silver Bullet of Nollywood.
Seeing the movie, I believe I felt all the emotions I was supposed to feel – a tint of humour, a lot of Amanda’s pain (because I felt that scene where she was slapped in my spine), the joy of seeing Amanda transition into a loving relationship and the pure delight of her redemptive experience. Loving Amanda is such a breath of fresh air from a lot of the bawdy content that is being marketed in the movie industry these days. Even if my watch party waited till it was late in the evening to see Loving Amanda, it was definitely worth the wait. The cast and crew definitely deserve their props and I am definitely rooting for Laju Iren Films to bless our screens with more stories like Loving Amanda. Also, I hope to see Loving Amanda on many more viewing platforms, like a Loving Amanda Netflix and chill session would not be bad at all.
Have you seen Loving Amanda Movie by Laju Iren? What do you think? Kindly leave a comment.