‘I Love You Forever’ is streaming on HBO Max — and striking a nerve. Experts break down the toxic dynamic at the center of this anti-rom-com.
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A new film explores narcissistic abuse, and it’s getting the internet talking.
I Love You Forever, which was produced by Diablo Cody from filmmaking team Cazzie David and Elisa Kalani, stars Sofia Black-D’Elia as Mackenzie, a woman who thinks she’s finally found an emotionally available man in Finn, played by Ray Nicholson. At first, the movie plays out like a classic romantic comedy, only to take a dark turn when Finn’s grandiose displays of affection and emotional vulnerability shifts into something darker. Soon he’s calling Mackenzie dozens of times in a row while she’s in class, showing up at her apartment to talk when she’s exhausted and interrupting important life events — all while berating and criticizing her for the ways she falls short at meeting his needs. As Finn gaslights Mackenzie into making her think she’s a bad partner, she finds herself scrambling to please him, losing herself to the relationship as she falls deeper under his coercive control.
Though I Love You Forever was available for rent and purchase after its 2024 debut at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival (SXSW), the movie recently dropped on HBO Max, where many people on social media are watching it for the first time. And many are noting the familiar patterns in what’s going on between Mackenzie and Finn and their own previous relationships.
In a TikTok video, user @magentababyyy called it the best film she had ever seen about falling into a cycle of abuse. “Someone will love bomb you, and then slowly introduce these kind of abusive gray area situations to where you’re so unaware that they are abusing you emotionally, mentally and then eventually physically,” she wrote, noting that the movie was triggering as someone who was in an abusive marriage.
Fellow TikToker @ohmayabehave echoed the sentiment in her own video, saying that the movie finally gave her an example to share with her loved ones about the “mental and emotional manipulation” she experienced in a previous relationship. “If you watch it, that is exactly what I just got done dealing with,” she said. “And if your friends ever try to tell you they’re dealing with something like that, believe them.”
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