If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

I think the things that struck me right off the bat while watching If Beale Street Could Talk, the thing that brought a tear to my eye, and made me sink deeply into my seat so I could sit back and take in every beautiful thing about this film, was how writer/director Barry Jenkins crafted his Rivers family. A mother, her two daughters, and her husband, the way they came to live, interdependently, and created a sense of love and togetherness which we don't always see in stories like this, stories about people pushed to the margins. The Rivers were a strong, beautiful, and loving people who no matter what happened were going to be there for each other. It is immediately evident and a thing of such powerful beauty I couldn't look away.

And it spoke to what made this film such a rich experience for me. It spoke to the dream is was weaving, a dream which for so many is elusive, but for many other lucky people is how they experience the world. Jenkins through Baldwin's story, is painting a portrait of love. And for many marginalized communities it is a portrait that is so desperately needed.

Jenkins paints a picture of two families, one held up in respect and true partnership and the other broken by anger and violence. Tish's family is strong due to their mutual support and love of of another, their ability to let each be as strong and unique as they can be. And it is through this unconditional love and unwavering support she is able to find on her own terms a lover who respects her in the same way, not compromising for something less. No matter than she lives in a world that tries to cut her down at every opportunity, she has everything she could need. This is a story of resilience.

Beale Street ends up being so many things in addition. It is a gorgeous film that no other film maker would have pulled off in the way Jenkins did. It is a sharp examination of how black men, and their families/communities are treated, valued, and abused in America. It is a poetry in motions as Baldwin's writing comes to vivid life, is spoken eloquently by a stellar cast. It is a film which just shook me as I watched it. But mostly it is this ode to love overcoming the worst.

Nicholas Britell's score is a magnificent thing of beauty, equal to the film Jenkins has made. His melodies are heartbreakingly beautiful and reflective of the power of the story. The theme entitled Agape is an attempt to capture "the highest form of love" and it does so lovingly.

And it made me reflect on what it is like to know this sort of love, to know you have the people around you who will take care of you forever, and who you get to care for. Beale Street is about the belief in this love. And it is remarkably beautiful.

If Beale Street Could Talk
Starring: Kiki Layne, Stephen James, Regina King, Teyonah Paris, Coleman Domingo, Brian Tyree Henry, Diego Luna, Ed Skrein, Emily Carla Rios, Pedro Pascal, Dave Franco
Writer/Director: Barry Jenkins