If Beale Street Could Talk is the screen adaption of the James Baldwin book by the same title. The movie was directed by Barry Jenkins, who also directed the award-winning film Moonlight. The movie opened Christmas 2018.
The story follows a young couple named Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) as Tish recalls the circumstances of how they met and what they are going through while Fonny is in prison for a crime he did not commit.
All of this is happening while Tish is pregnant with Fonny’s baby. The story focuses largely on how Tish and Fonny’s families react to the news of her pregnancy.
Some of the supporting actors in If Beale Street Could Talk include Regina King as Sharon, Dave Franco as Levy and Colman Domingo as Joseph Rivers.
The film was nominated for three Golden Globes in the categories: Best Motion Picture-Drama, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay, and won the award in the category of Best Supporting actress for Regina King’s contributions.
The film currently has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes.
I recently saw the movie and it was wonderful. The story depicts black-love in the 1970s very well.
As an audience member, the chemistry between the lead actors was phenomenal. It really seemed like they knew each other since they were kids as their characters mention in the film.
In addition, the movie demonstrates how black people were affected by racism in the 70s. The director presented the racist situations Tish and Fonny went through, not as violent flashbacks, but as short monologues the charterers would share.
Besides showing struggles with racism, the story also highlights the familial hardships the couple has and relationship problems. No matter how much the couple goes through, they grow stronger instead of falling apart.
One thing I really enjoyed was the original score of the movie, which was composed by Nicholas Britell. The entire score is instrumental and it added a softness to the movie.
If Beale Street Could Talk is great love story that I would recommend any one to watch.
Courtesy of AnnaPurna Pictures.
