If Beale Street Could Talk

Based on the novel by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk is the story of a young woman who turns to her family for help in trying to free her lover who is wrongly charged with a crime as she hopes to free him before the birth of their first child. Written for the screen and directed by Barry Jenkins, the film is a period drama set in early 1970s Harlem as it play into a couple who meet and fall in love only for things to go wrong due to a false accusation. Starring KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Dave Franco, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal, Ed Skrein, Brian Tyree Henry, and Regina King. If Beale Street Could Talk is an evocative and touching film from Barry Jenkins.

Set in early 1970s Harlem, the film revolves around a young couple whose life is in disarray when the man is accused of raping a young woman as those who know him are aware he’s innocent. Adding to the plight for this young man is that his girlfriend is pregnant as her family is trying to get him out of prison and prove he’s innocent in a world that is getting more complicated. It’s a film that play into the plight of two young lovers as they deal with the arrival of a baby as one family is willing to help yet the other, with the exception of the man’s father, chooses not to help. Barry Jenkins’ screenplay aims for a reflective narrative of sorts as it relates to the character of Clementine “Tish” Rivers (KiKi Layne) who looks back on her life with Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) as well as the moment they conceived their child while cutting back to the present where Fonny is in jail as he just learned Tish is a few months pregnant.

The film moves back and forth to the times when Tish and Fonny were a couple as they knew each other since they were kids although Tish is a few years younger than Fonny. Their relationship is one filled with innocence and dreams as Fonny does whatever he can to learn a trade while also discovering his passion for being a sculptor. The flashback scenes also showcase moments of darkness such as a visit from Fonny’s friend Daniel Cartee (Brian Tyree Henry) who had just been released in prison as he reveals what he had seen as it would play into Fonny’s worries for the future following a terrible encounter with a racist police officer named Bell (Ed Skrein). The present narrative that play into Fonny’s time in prison as well as the impossibility of what had happened to this young woman in Victoria Rogers (Emily Rios) who suddenly returned to her home in Puerto Rico. While the Rivers’ attorney in Hayward (Finn Wittrock) is trying to help the family, there are complications prompting Tish’s mother Sharon (Regina King) to find Rogers herself as it present revelations about the severity of what happened to Rogers.

Jenkins’ direction definitely has this poetic tone to the film as it play into Tish’s recollections of her life with Fonny through voice over narration as well as playing into the ideas of the life she and Fonny could have but also be aware of the dark realities around them. Shot on location in New York City with Harlem being the predominant location as well as additional locations in the Dominican Republic as Puerto Rico. Jenkins does use wide shots to establish the locations but emphasizes more on close-ups and medium shots in carefully crafted compositions to maintain an intimacy between the characters. Most notably the scene where Tish and her family ask Fonny’s family for a drink where Tish’s father Joseph Rivers (Colman Domingo) and her older sister Ernestine (Teyonah Parris) are excited about the news of Tish and Fonny’s baby as is Fonny's father Frank Hunt (Michael Beach). Yet, Fonny’s mother (Aunjanue Ellis) and his sisters Adrienne (Ebony Obsidian) and Sheila (Dominique Thorne) aren’t happy with the news.

It’s among these simple yet tense scenes where Jenkins play into this tension as well as the severity of what Fonny is enduring as well as some of the fallacies into what he’s charged with as it relates to the different parts of New York City. The scenes at the prison where Fonny and Tish meet have Jenkins use some extreme close-ups but also medium shots for the setting as the latter is dealing with her pregnancy while there’s repetitious images of her at the subway. The film’s third act that play into Sharon going to Puerto Rico to find Rogers as it is this poignant sequence that play into Sharon’s desperation to get Rogers to tell the truth about Fonny and prove his innocence but it ends up being an uneasy task with lots of emotional repercussions.

Even as Jenkins reveals that what Fonny and Tish would deal with play into the fates of many others through pictures of African-Americans living in the ghettos during the 1970s and beyond but also show that they would find a way to maintain a sense of hope for their child. No matter how bad the circumstances can be and the injustice that many African-Americans have to suffer in the past and in the present as Jenkins reveals that despite all of these troubles. There is always hope through love. Overall, Jenkins crafts a rapturous and intoxicating film about a young woman hoping to free her lover from prison so he can be proved innocent and be with his family.

Cinematographer James Laxton does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of lights for some of the daytime/nighttime interiors and nighttime exteriors as well as the usage of natural lighting play into the beauty of the times despite some of its ugliness. Editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders do amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts as well a montage involving Tish dealing with her pregnancy and other stylish cuts that play into the drama. Production designer Mark Friedberg, with set decorators Devynne Lauchner and Kris Moran plus art directors Robert Pyzocha, Oliver Rivas Madera, and Jessica Shorten, does excellent work with the look of the family home of Tish’s parents as well as the home she and Fonny were eager to live as it would be something really special plus the Puerto Rican restaurant they like to go to. Costume designer Caroline Eselin does brilliant work with the costumes in terms of the stylish clothing the characters would wear to play into the times while Fonny’s mother is presented in this very uptight demeanor in her clothing as if she represents this false idea of purity.

Visual effects supervisors John Bair and John Mangia do nice work with the visual effects where it is largely set-dressing for some of the exteriors to help play into the period of the times. Sound designers Odin Benitez and Bryan Parker, along with sound editor/mixer Onnalee Blank, do fantastic work with the sound in capturing the atmosphere of the locations as well as the sound of records being played from a record player and other sparse elements that is key to the film’s sound work. The film’s music by Nicholas Brittell is phenomenal for its rich and intoxicating orchestral score that has elements of lush string arrangements as well as operatic tones and other subtle themes as it is a major highlight of the film while music supervisor Gabe Hilfer creates a soundtrack that is filled with a mixture of blues, jazz, soul, Latin music, and other contemporary pieces of the time.

The casting by Cindy Tolan is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Dave Franco as a landlord who shows Tish and Fonny this big loft home, Diego Luna as a Puerto Rican restauranteur who is a friend of Fonny, Finn Wittrock as the Rivers’ attorney Hayward who does what he can to help them knowing that he’s up for a big legal battle, Pedro Pascal as a local Puerto Rican hood in Pierto Alvarez who meets with Sharon about Rogers, Milanni Mines and Ethan Barrett in their respective roles as the adolescent versions of Tish and Fonny, Ebony Obsidian and Dominique Thorne in their respective roles as Fonny’s sisters Adrienne and Sheila who aren’t excited about the news of Fonny’s new baby, and Emily Rios in a terrific performance as Victoria Rogers as a woman who had been raped and believes that Fonny is the one who raped her.

Michael Beach and Aunjanue Ellis are superb in their respective roles as Fonny’s parents in Frank and Mrs. Hunt with Beach as this man that is ecstatic about the arrival of a grandchild as he is eager to help his son get out of jail while Ellis has this chilling presence as a woman who is convinced her son is in jail because he sinned greatly against God. Ed Skrein is fantastic in his small role as the racist police officer Bell as a man that confronts Fonny one night and tries to get him arrested as he would later play a part in Fonny’s incarceration. Brian Tyree Henry is excellent as Daniel Carty as a friend of Fonny who had been paroled as he talks about his experience in prison as well as what he saw during his time. Colman Domingo and Teyonah Parris are brilliant in their respective roles as Tish’s father Joseph and older sister Ernestine as two people being supportive of Tish as well as do what they can to get Fonny out of jail and prove his innocence. Regina King is incredible as Tish’s mother Sharon as a woman that is supportive of her daughter as well as wanting to prove that Fonny is innocent as it’s an understated yet riveting performance from King who really is a major highlight of the film.

The performances of KiKi Layne and Stephan James are phenomenal in their respective roles as Tish and Fonny. Layne’s performance is one filled with innocence as a 19-year old woman trying to understand what Fonny is going through as well as deal with her pregnancy as it’s a calm yet radiant performance from Layne. James’ performance is one that is full of sensitivity and care but also someone who is aware of the dark aspects of the real world as he does show some anger during a confrontation with a man trying to harass Tish as well as the struggle he is having in prison. Layne and James together just have this natural chemistry in the way they spend time with one another as well as deal with the pain of being apart as they talk together in prison.

If Beale Street Could Talk is a tremendous film from Barry Jenkins. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, Nicholas Brittell’s gorgeous score, and themes of love and family trying to help one another. It’s a touching drama that play into the period of racial injustice and unfairness during 1970s Harlem as well as show what some people will do to provide some hope and love in these troubled times. In the end, If Beale Street Could Talk is a spectacular film from Barry Jenkins.

Barry Jenkins Films: (Medicine for Melancholy) – Moonlight

© thevoid99 2019

Moonlight (2016 film)

Based on the semi-biographical play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Moonlight is the story of the life of a man told in three different period in time as a boy, a teenager, and as a young adult as he copes with his sexual identity and his troubled family life and environment. Written for the screen and directed by Barry Jenkins from a screen story by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the film is a coming-of-age story that is told in an unconventional style that play into a boy’s growth into a man. Starring Trevante Rhodes, Andre Holland, Janelle Monae, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali. Moonlight is an evocative and ravishing film from Barry Jenkins.

Set largely in the Liberty City ghettos of Miami, the film follows the life of a young boy named Chiron who would later endure all sorts of struggles with his identity and environment in the course of three different periods. It’s a film that play into these different periods in Chiron’s life where he lives in the ghetto trying to survive yet is facing a much bigger prejudice for the fact that he might be gay. Barry Jenkins’ screenplay uses a simple three-act structure to play into Chiron’s life as the first act is about the adolescent Chiron as he’s called Little (Alex Hibbert) with the second act is about him as a teenager (Ashton Sanders), and the third act where he’s an adult (Trevante Rhodes). The first act has Little meet up with this drug dealer named Juan (Mahershala Ali) who finds him at an abandoned crack house after being chased by bullies. Juan would be a guide to Little as he teaches him how to swim and lead his own path in life despite the verbal abuse and neglect he gets from his mother Paula (Naomie Harris) who is becoming a crack addict.

The second act has the teenage Chiron feeling lost both in his direction and in his identity where he is bullied by a schoolmate in Terrel (Patrick Decile) and whatever money Juan’s girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae) gives him would often go to his mother to support her addiction. The second act also play into Chiron’s friendship with Kevin (Jharrel Jerome) as they were schoolmates when they were kids as it would lead to some revelations for Chiron but also heartbreak. The third act is about the adult Chiron living in Atlanta where he takes the nickname Black that Kevin used to call him as he’s a big-time drug dealer with a sense of uncertainty until he receives a call from the adult Kevin (Andre Holland) that would force him to return to Miami.

Jenkins’ direction doesn’t exactly go for anything that is stylistic other than a few flowing hand-held camera shots yet it does manage to maintain a sense of beauty through its approach to grittiness. Shot on location in the Liberty City section of Miami with a few parts of the film shot in Atlanta, Jenkins’ uses the location as an important area that is known for its crime and drug culture while it’s a world that has great demands for kids and adults to be tough. For Little, it’s a bigger hurdle in not just being black in the ghetto but much more dangerous in being a young African-American kid in the ghetto who is gay. There are wide shots in Jenkins’ direction yet it’s more about creating a mood through the compositions he is creating as well as these events that would shape the life of Chiron. One notable scene at Juan’s home with Teresa is where Little asks about being called a faggot where it is presented with a simplicity but also with some low-key dramatic tension. Even as Juan is forced to realize the faults of masculinity among African-Americans as he also has to deal with the fact that he’s played a part in Little’s troubled relationship with his mother.

The second act has Jenkins take on something far more unpredictable but also in its approach to violence where the teenage Chiron has to take a stand but also see the horror of how much his mother’s addiction has become. There is also this moment on the beach as the scenes of the beach are this recurring symbol of serenity and peace that Chiron craves for. Even in the first act where Juan teaches Little how to swim as it’s this world that he can escape into while the second act has him and Kevin in an intimate scene that would mark a major change in their friendship. The film’s third act does feel more up to date but Jenkins would also change the tone a bit into something that is looser but also with elements of stylish images that play into Black’s sense of longing. Even as his meeting with the adult Kevin play into not just nostalgia but also regret into the life he was accepted for who he is. Overall, Jenkins crafts a majestic yet intoxicating film about the life of a boy becoming a man in three different parts of his life.

Cinematographer James Laxton does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as its usage of naturalistic and colorful lights for much of the film’s daytime exterior scenes is matched with its usage of filters and stylish lights for the interior/exterior scenes set at night. Editors Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon do amazing work with the editing as its usage of slow-motion and other stylish cuts play into the drama with Sanders doing the film’s first two acts while McMillon does the film’s third act to create a different tone for each section. Production designer Hannah Beachler, with set decorator Regina McLarney and art director Mabel Barba, does excellent work with the look of the home that Juan and Teresa live in as well as the different homes Chiron would stay in.

Costume designer Caroline Eselin does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely casual with the exception of the school uniforms that Little would wear along with some of the clothes that Paula wore. Sound editors Joshua Adeniji and Benjamin L. Cook do brilliant work with the film’s sound as it help convey the atmosphere of the location along with the sound of waves in nearby location as it brings a calm to the dramatic moments of the film. The film’s music by Nicholas Britell is phenomenal for its rich and mesmerizing orchestral-based score with lush string arrangements that play into the drama and chaos that Chiron endures for much of his life as it’s a score that is devastating yet serene in its presentation while music supervisor Maggie Phillips creates a soundtrack that mixes hip-hop and soul music from artists like Aretha Franklin, Boris Gardiner, Goodie Mob, Barbara Lewis, Erykah Badu, OG Ron C, and DJ Candlestick.

The casting by Yesi Ramirez is great as it feature some notable small roles from Patrick Decile as the teenage Chiron’s bully Terrel, Shariff Earp as one of Juan’s dealers in Terrence, and Stephon Bron as a dealer for Black. Janelle Monae is fantastic as Teresa as Juan’s girlfriend who is a maternal figure of sorts for the young Chiron as she is also someone who is stern yet reveal the things that Chiron needs to do to be a good person in life. Naomie Harris is brilliant as Chiron’s mother Paula as a nurse whose addiction to crack leads to neglect and abuse on Chiron as she is also someone that is desperate and full of hate while becoming remorseful in the film’s third act. Mahershala Ali is amazing as Juan as a Cuban-born drug dealer who becomes a father-figure to Chiron as he also becomes troubled by Paula’s addiction while he also deals with some of the issues he’s created for the people around him.

In the role of Chiron’s friend Kevin Jones, the trio of Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, and Andre Holland are incredible in their respective roles as the child, teenage, and adult versions of the character with Piner as the young Kevin trying to help Little be tough and cool. Jerome provides a charisma and coolness to the teenage Kevin as someone trying to be accepted in school but also make a discovery of his own in his friendship with Chiron. Holland’s performance is more reserved as a man trying to live a good life where he is somewhat content with where he’s going while being concerned about who Chiron has become.

In the roles of Chiron, the performances of Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes are phenomenal in their portrayals of this young boy who would become a man with Hibbert displaying a troubled innocence as the young Chiron in Little as he doesn’t say much but manages to convey so much through his face. Sanders’ performance as the teenage Chiron has elements of restrained but also a melancholia as someone struggling with his identity and being bullied where this emergence of rage would come out. Rhodes’ performance as the adult Chiron known as Black is low-key in its emotions as someone who is trying not to think about the past but also cope with his experiences in life as well as deal with his own loneliness and regrets in his life.

Moonlight is a tremendous film from Barry Jenkins. Featuring a great ensemble cast, gorgeous visuals, an entrancing music score and soundtrack, realistic settings, and a touching coming-of-age story told in three different periods in time. It’s a film that explores a man trying to come to terms with his identity as well as the world around him as a boy, teenager, and a man as it’s told in a rich and intoxicating style. In the end, Moonlight is an outstanding film from Barry Jenkins.

Barry Jenkins Films: (Medicine for Melancholy) – If Beale Street Could Talk

© thevoid99 2018