It is a darn shame this film wasn’t made, say, five to ten years ago, when Tyler Perry and Tyler Perry alone dominated African-American cinema. In the depths of 2018, arguably the very best year in African-American film history, If Beale Street Could Talk comes off as rich and nuanced yet one-dimensional and depressing at the same time. In other words, what otherwise could have been a strong contender for the black experience of the year will likely get tossed aside for not being The Hate U Give or BlackKklansman.
Tish (KiKi Layne) is gonna have a baby. And there’s your plot point, ladies and gentlemen. I’m done.
Seriously, not much happens in this film. You need to know that going in because youngsters will be booooooooored.
Ok, I suppose there was a little more to this film … but not in terms of pure plot. Tish and Fonny (Stephan James) are in love. You have to be heartless not to feel for them. Few on screen couples have ever looked more in love. Which makes it all the more tragic when Fonny is sent to prison on an errant claim of rape. Plot-wise, If Beale Street Could Talk is entirely Tish-is-pregnant-and-Fonny’s-in-jail. That’s it. Everything else is just window dressing … but really, really nice window dressing.
The families of Tish and Fonny aren’t exactly the Montagues and Capulets; that doesn’t stop a battle from breaking out when Fonny’s ultrareligious mom (Aunjanue Ellis) starts thumpin’ about sinful childbirth. Are we rooting for Michael Beach to slap the beJesus out Aunjanue to shut her up? Such mixed emotions on this one. One thing is clear from this point: Tish’s mom Sharon (Regina King) will have to carry the bulk of Tish’s emotional burden by herself. Luckily, this is a very well-cast film, so we’re sure Sharon won’t half-ass this role.
You might have asked yourself what Beale Street, a promenade of Memphis, TN has to do with an unwed couple in Harlem. I sure did. The words of source material author James Baldwin are paraphrased here: Beale is where jazz was born, thus representing the epitome of African-American culture. There perhaps is nothing more indicative of African-American struggle than a black man going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, or a crime for which a similar infraction made by a white man yields no jail time. I wish I could say these possibilities only relate to the 1970s era where the film is set, but somehow even in the Trump era, there are still “fine people on both sides” making sure African-American people don’t get a fair shake.
If Beale Street Could Talk is a beautiful film in many ways – an exploration of cinematography and emotion not often seen in the world of slash cut action and 3D cartooning. I see the film as far more poetic than instructive or entertaining. This is what it looks like when you set out to create art and damn the consequences. Sometimes you get art. Beale was a little slow moving for my taste, but I’d be an ass to deny its power or beauty.
Supremacists always strive for their holy grail
To see all non-white suppressed without fail
A solution in modern days
Adjusts for changing of ways:
The next best thing to slavery is jail
Rated R, 119 Minutes
Director: Barry Jenkins
Writer: Barry Jenkins
Genre: Our old pal, racism
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: “I wish this Tyler Perry movie were better”
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: White supremacists
