If Beale Street Could Talk *** (2018, KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Diego Luna, Finn Wittrock, Dave Franco, Ed Skrein) – Movie Review

Writer-director Barry Jenkins’s drama If Beale Street Could Talk is based on James Baldwin’s novel about the newly engaged young Harlem woman Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne), who tries to prove her jailed fiancé Fonny (Stephan James) is innocent of a rape, while she tells him and their families that she is pregnant with their first child.

Though there is a lot of all too understandable anger in the film, it nevertheless comes over as a warm-hearted celebration of love – that of the young couple and of some members of their families, especially the mother, Sharon Rivers (Regina King). Love is the key to Beale Street. It has a simple message, and a timeless one, which is always relevant.

The film has an artificial feel about it, though it is hard to tell if that is intentional or not. At any rate, it is slightly arty and certainly plays unrealistically. It has a poetic edge, which works, but also works against it. It is a good film, with a great spirit and a kind nature, but dramatically it is not always entirely convincing, persuasive or wholly moving.

The story is powerful enough, but spread across two hours, it seems a shade thin and undernourished. In between the riveting key highlight scenes, the pace is slow in places, and Jenkins could pick up a bit of urgency. There is a lot of dialogue and characterisation, giving the actors a good time, plenty of space to be good or bad or just medium. It would make a great night out in the theatre.

KiKi Layne and Stephan James are both sympathetic and convincing in eager, excellent performances, as the film’s star-crossed Juliet and Romeo-style lovers, but they are outshone by Regina King’s urgent, compelling acting, which is the superlative mainstay of the movie. Diego Luna and Finn Wittrock are wasted in minor roles as Pedrocito and the lawyer Hayward, Dave Franco has an peculiar, unconvincing cameo scene as the kindly Jewish landlord Levy, while Ed Skrein is absolutely awful as the vicious, racist white cop Officer Bell.

The score by Nicholas Britell is probably to taste, but it is an intrusive distraction, and a jazz-based one would have been much better. James Laxton’s cinematography is sometimes quite plain and serviceable, which is when it is at its best, and sometimes gets fancy, producing the art movie spin. The film is a whole lot better when it is gritty and real, like the very alive scene of the family in-fighting.

If Beale Street Could Talk is nominated for three Oscars: Best Original Score (Nicholas Britell), Best Supporting Actress (Regina King) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Barry Jenkins). It won for Best Supporting Actress (Regina King).

Regina King won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture.

Jenkins’s says: ‘James Baldwin is a man of and ahead of his time. His interrogations of the American consciousness have remained relevant to this day. To translate the power of Tish and Fonny’s love to the screen in Baldwin’s image is a dream I’ve long held dear. Working alongside the Baldwin Estate, I’m excited to finally make that dream come true.’

Unexpectedly, Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk lost between $8 million and $10 million at the box office.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Movie Review

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