cuhk Review of Medicine for Melancholy

Medicine for Melancholy (2008)

I want to see more from this director

[8/10 · 22 February 2009]

This is a very nice film that I enjoyed very much. Back in the mid-1980s, on a Labor Day weekend, my girlfriend and I were trying to pick a film to see. As we perused the sparse offerings, we came across an ad that featured African Americans. I shouted, "Lets go see this. It has black people in it". At the time, there were so few films being done by and about blacks, we quickly rushed out to see it. We were met by a line snaking around the block. That film turned about to be Spike Lee's first film, "She's Gotta Have It". The rest is history. If this film is any indication, the future of black film-making is in good hands. The debut feature by Barry Jenkins (also, coincidentally, shot in black and white with sexual overtones) traces the post one night stand of two San Francisco twenty-somethings as they grapple with the awkwardness of what has just taken place as well as the obvious attraction they have for one another. The third character in the film is the city of San Francisco. If you have never been to SF, it is a wonderful, eclectic metropolis. It is the only Cali city with a big east coast city feel. All three of the characters are attractive to watch and play their roles well. Inertia means that a body @ rest or in motion tends to stay in its current state unless acted upon by a great enough force. Since Jo, the female character, is already in a relationship, you wonder if the magnetism between she and Wyatt will generate enough "force" to displace her current lover. Find and view the film to find out. I viewed the film in Hollywood, CA. and had the privilege of sitting in on a Q & A with the film's director and actors so I am privy to a lot of additional info about the film that is not on the screen. Suffice to say, I hope that this filmmaker and these fine actors get the opportunity to display their talents much more in the future.