#ichael beach

Review

Cast and Acting: 9/10

Right off the bat, KiKi Layne and Stephan James have perfect chemistry. I mean it, this might have set my bar for perfect chemistry in film that’s actually consummated. Their past, while largely unseen, carries a lot of weight, and you can feel that every time the interact on the screen. What I’m saying is, they’re cute together, and I ship them hard. Yeah, I just said that, sue me. Here’s the things, though...individually, they’re only OK. Yeah, sorry, neither of them get a big chance to shine alone, and when they do, the film does most of the acting for them. When I say that, I think back to the perfume counter scene. It’s not KiKi’s acting that sells it for me, it’s the environment, the setting, the situation. Sorry to say it...but I kind of get why they weren’t nominated for Best Actress and Actor. NOT THAT THEY AREN’T GOOD. THEY ARE GREAT. But they aren’t really stellar alone, is what I’m saying.

Most of the supporting cast is also fantastic, even if some of them don’t get nearly as much time. Teyonah Parris, whom I’ve been enjoying THOROUGHLY in WandaVision, does a great turn as Ernestine, while Colman Domingo and Michael Beach are great as the fathers, even if their plot line sort of drops off. Even Aunjanue Ellis is good in her brief appearance as Fonny’s mom, and Brian Tyree Henry’s monologue about prison, and Emily Rios’ about rape are...hauntingly good. Ah, but wait...I’m forgetting someone, aren’t I?

REGINA FUCKING KING EVERYBODY. This woman ABSOLUTELY deserved Best Supporting Actress, and was WITHOUT A SINGLE DOUBT the best actor in the film. My Lord, she was amazing, and I’m really happy that she’s finally been able to carve an illustrious career in the 2010s. Seriously, she’s been acting since the ‘90s, and I feel like she’s only come to prominence in the last 10 years or so. Which sucks, because I’ve known about her since WAY before that, and it’s really nice to see her in the spotlight. WHOO!

Plot and Writing: 10/10

Y’know, the plot was a legitimate surprise to me. I guess that, after this month, I’ve been expecting happy endings and all that. But this ending was...bittersweet, and not even really that. Which is by absolutely no means a bad thing, just to be clear. No, this film was a touching diatribe on young love’s intersection with an unfair society, while also serving as a look at racial politics in the past, and serving as a harsh lens on today’s world as well. Barry Jenkins is the one who adapted James Baldwin’s novel into the screenplay, and...yeah, it’s fantastic. Moving, insightful, affecting, hertbreaking, you name it.

Directing and Cinematography: 9/10

Barry Jenkins, man. I was going to watch his other film Moonlight this month, but I’m putting off for another month to make room for some other films. But this film LOOKS gorgeous. There’s too much to go into in terms of how many good shots there are here, but one of these scenes was good enough to win Regina King the Oscar. Which does bring something up, though. HOW DID THIS FILM GET SNUBBED SO HARD

Look, I liked Black Panther as much as the next guy, BUT IT WASN’T BETTER THAN THIS MOVIE. And yet, it got nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and THIS MOVIE DIDN’T? Not just that, but it didn’t get nominated for Best Director OR Best Cinematography (by James Laxton)? The Oscars are BULLSHIT, full stop.

Production and Art Design: 8/10

But I will say, this film wasn’t as good as Black Panther in Production and Art Design, but that’s because those categories were basically perfect in Black Panther. I tell you, if that movie had NOTHING ELSE going for it (and it did, hello Eric Killmonger), it had the look. But, that said, Beale Street still deserved a nomination at least! I mean, this film looks fantastic, no complaints. Well...one complaint. It really wasn’t very ‘70s to me. It was, sure, but it could’ve passed for other time periods easily. Definitely very good...but not perfect.

Music and Editing: 9/10

Fun fact! Nicholas Britell was brought on to this project after previously working on Moonlight with Barry Jenkins. This score took a lot of tinkering, but was meant to revolve around the ideals of love. In fact, some of the pieces are named after the Greek forms of love. You know, philia, agape, etc.? Neat, right? Anyway, the work shows, as not only did it get nominated for Best Original Score (which it lost to...Black PantherCOMEON), but it’s also quite an impactful score on its own. While it’s nt soundtrack-worth for me, it’s still extremely memorable, and I’d recognize it upon hearing it. So, yeah, nice one, Britell!

90%! And it’s well-deserved.

This was a beautiful movie, and it really did move me. I mean, it’s not like it’s changed my opinions about anything; in fact, it’s really just strengthened them, but it’s still a gorgeous movie. And outside of the sociopolitical folderol, this film has a gorgeous portrait of love that I can’t ignore, and won’t forget for a while. Fantastic.

And as for period romances...let’s take a break, huh? Let’s go for something set while the film was made, but also along the lines of a traditional love story. We are getting close to Valentine’s after all.