If Beale Street Could Talk

classified 15
Film

Please note: This was screened in Feb 2019

Director
Barry Jenkins
Cast
KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King
Details
119 mins, 2018, USA
Primary language
English

Barry Jenkins (don't miss our February Sunday Brunches dedicated to him) follows up his Oscar®-winning Moonlight with this beautiful romance based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name.

In 1970s Harlem, newly pregnant Tish (KiKi Layne) races against the clock to prove the innocence of her lover Fonny (Stephan James) when he is falsely accused of rape. As he awaits trial, Tish desperately tries to find justice while her mother (a heartbreaking performance by Regina King, who deservedly scooped a Golden Globe) must decide how far she will go to secure her daughter's future.

A ravishing, gorgeous film of great beauty (the production design, graceful cinematography and haunting score are all outstanding), this is an exquisite look at black dignity and, more importantly, a celebration of love: love between partners, love for children, love for family and friends. Tish and Fonny's story ultimately insists that even a world of corruption, prejudice and unfairness, love and dignity might - just might - prevail.


× Close

Help us make our website work better for you

We use Google Analytics to gather information on how our website is used. This information helps us to make changes to our website that improve the usefulness and overall experience for our visitors. If you would like to help us to make continuous improvements to our website, please allow us to set "first-party" cookies (only readable by us) so that we can distinguish visitors and gain greater insights.

Allow cookies for analytics Deny cookies for analytics