If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Directed by: Barry Jenkins | 120 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Aunjanue Ellis, Ebony Obsidian, Dominique Thorne, Diego Luna, Finn Wittrock, Ed Skrein, Emily Rios, Pedro Pascal, Brian Tyree Henry, Bobby Conte Thornton

It was one of the biggest surprises in Oscars history in 2017. Such a big surprise, in fact, that the award ceremony went completely wrong. A small, intimate arthouse film about a gay black boy won the Oscar for Best Picture. Would have predicted that about fifteen years ago, and you would have been called crazy. All the more clever what director Barry Jenkins managed to achieve at the time. Barely recovered from the emotional blow that was called ‘Moonlight’, Jenkins is now there with ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’, after the book of the same name by James Baldwin.

Where Jenkins focused his camera in ‘Moonlight’ on the struggle of a gay African-American boy in Miami, in ‘Beale Street’ it is a love affair that takes center stage. Set against the backdrop of the racism-torn Harlem neighborhood of New York in the early 1970s, nineteen-year-old Tish (debutante KiKi Layne) struggles to prove the innocence of her boyfriend Fonny (Stephan James, known from the “Homecoming” series), while pregnant with their first child.

Fonny is wrongly accused of rape by a racist cop. All key witnesses have disappeared or been imprisoned, and the police system is still characterized by a thoroughly depraved racist culture. Parallel to this storyline, we follow the genesis of the romance between Tish and Fonny: best friends from childhood, slowly budding into a beautiful relationship. The result is an almost poetic treatise on love, all the while torn apart by the unjust outside world.

It is therefore going too far to call ‘Beale Street’ just an indictment against racism. The characters are too rich for that, and the love affair between Tish and Fonny is simply too overwhelming. Of course, the film is a (justifiable) lament about racial tensions in the 1970s; much more than that, ‘Beale Street’ is an ode to the beauty of love and family. This is also beautifully reflected in the roles of Tish’s parents, especially mother Sharon (Oscar-nominated Regina King), who has to do all kinds of things to exonerate her son-in-law.

But painful confrontations are by no means shunned by Jenkins. The scene in which the families gather to celebrate the unveiling of Tish’s pregnancy can be remembered as one of the most painful and at the same time most black-comedy film confrontations of recent years. But the final scene, which we will not give away here, also goes through the marrow and bone, but at the same time has a remarkably sweet character.

Jenkins effortlessly balances the signs with the seemingly heavy themes. And yet the film will not win over every viewer: moments win in ‘Beale Street’ of a plot that follows a clearly defined path. The viewer who finds it difficult to deal with that, will probably also have some difficulty embracing the film directly. In that respect, Jenkins also remains fairly faithful to the source material: ‘Beale Street’ breathes the character of Baldwin’s novel.

Supported by beautifully designed meanderings and a stunning soundtrack, the film is taken to an even higher level. If Jenkins shows anything with his second major feature, it is that his peak with ‘Moonlight’ is definitely not behind him. ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ is a heartwarming and heartbreaking love odyssey. A more than worthy successor to ‘Moonlight’.