IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (2018)

1/13/18 - If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) - 7+/10

A passionate and overpowering score (from Nicholas Britell) paired with Jenkins penchant for slowly revelatory tightly framed close-ups provide a pleasant and artistic experience, but I wasn’t quite awe inspired by his Moonlight follow-up effort. I think it was beautifully soulful and simmered with intensity and tenderness. A cinematic art piece with thumping jazz accentuating the smoky swirls, both literal and figurative. That said, there was some level of spectacular and personally connecting magic that was missing for me.

I truly enjoyed it, but too much of the slowly developing drama felt like it was behind prison glass; almost there to grasp but firmly held from my grip. I am not saying that the work wasn’t top notch or that the material wasn’t able to provide the emotional connection necessary, I am just saying that with this film, it felt like Jenkins was too involved with making slow moving stills of love and pain than a contiguous developed moving masterpiece. Here, the craft felt more important than the complete.

Despite the few pseudo-flaws that I am pointing too, this film really is quite good. A tremendous movie of poignancy and unfortunate relevancy. I have never read the source material, so I have no reference point for its failings or accomplishments in that regard. I will say that one of the most moving sections of the film is an extended encounter with Brian Tyree Henry’s character. His work here is tremendous and is a tremendous encapsulation of the desolate pain and unwarranted & intolerable plight of the black man in the overly-policed repressive state they found themselves in then & now. Some of the rest of the film pays lip service to the theme but that moment was agonizingly realized.

Again, I might sound harsh. I was just hoping for a “film of the decade” kind of spectacle like Moonlight gave us. I don’t feel that this one measured up, but it is still an outstanding feature, presenting standout performances (especially from Regina King and Stephan James) and devilishly gorgeous cinematography.