Upon the video's release, multiple media outlets and music critics compared the content of the video to a reenactment of Rihanna and Brown's physical altercation. When asked about this, Matsoukas clarified that the video was not linked to Brown in any circumstance, and said, "[O'Shaughnessy] doesn't even really look like Chris Brown to me." The video begins with a monologue by fashion model Agyness Deyn about love and heartbreak: During the narration, Rihanna and her lover are depicted in both love and hate scenarios. Before the song begins to play, lightning bolts are projected onto a wall in which Rihanna stands in front of. She and her lover are depicted as enamored with each other, and enjoying activities such as fairground rides and eating in fast food restaurants. During the chorus, images of drugs, pills, and dilated pupils are shown, while brief scenes of Rihanna and her boyfriend preparing to have sex are shown. The chorus continues and the video cuts to a scene in which Rihanna and other people dance at an outside rave; Calvin Harris features as the DJ. As the second chorus begins, Rihanna and her boyfriend are happily running amok in a supermarket, pushing each other in a shopping cart and spraying canned drinks at each other. However, they begin arguing in a car. The video then shows the couple experiencing mounting difficulties in their relationship. They eventually begin to physically abuse one another. During the final chorus, Rihanna is seen vomiting streamers; she is also seen unconscious on the street while her boyfriend tries to revive her. After finding the boyfriend unconscious on the floor of his apartment, Rihanna decides she has had enough of the relationship and leaves him. The video ends with Rihanna curled up in the corner of a room, crying. The video for "We Found Love" premiered on the website Whosay.com on October 19, 2011. Chris Coplan of Consequence of Sound praised the production of the video, noting its cinematic feel and that it shows the "ins and outs [and] ups and downs" of love. Coplan compared the video to the film "Blue Valentine" due to its sexualized content and a narrative that consists of a couple in a turbulent relationship. Erika Ramirez of "Billboard" magazine called the video artful and poignant, and noted that it shows "neon colors, explicit sex, bathtub embraces and painful arguments of the couple's world". Jocelyn Vena of MTV commented that although the song is upbeat and carefree, the video represents the antithesis, depicting "a dark look at love and substance abuse".