Faith in a very pure romantic attraction between two people was the dramatic core of Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning “Moonlight,” and that same faith is the animating principle of his much-anticipated follow-up, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” a rich but very unwieldy adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel.
“Moonlight” originated in a story from the gifted playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Jenkins was able to make the narrative of that sensitive film his own by applying a poetic kind of stealth to the subjective visuals. But Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” makes for a much more demanding and intimidating authorial basis for a movie.
Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Fonny Hunt have known each other since they were children. Jenkins’ film, like Baldwin’s novel, is told from Tish’s point of view and moves backward and forward in time in a way that suggests puzzle pieces scattered out on a table.
“Moonlight” originated in a story from the gifted playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Jenkins was able to make the narrative of that sensitive film his own by applying a poetic kind of stealth to the subjective visuals. But Baldwin’s “If Beale Street Could Talk” makes for a much more demanding and intimidating authorial basis for a movie.
Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Fonny Hunt have known each other since they were children. Jenkins’ film, like Baldwin’s novel, is told from Tish’s point of view and moves backward and forward in time in a way that suggests puzzle pieces scattered out on a table.
- 12/13/2018
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
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