THE REEL: 'If Beale Street Could Talk' is worth the hype

This is it, my confession; when I first watched If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), I didn’t like it. There, I said it. Confession is cathartic and good for the soul. I even tweeted ‘meh’, after watching it.

Regina King is a favourite, and she has graced our screens in so many movies and series where she typically plays a supporting role. A fun fact is that she voices both Huey and Riley Freeman, two characters in “The Boondocks”, an American adult animated sitcom.

CHANGED MY MIND

At the time I watched the If Beale Street Could Talk, I felt that it didn’t really do her justice, but, there is redemption after all because, I changed my mind.

If Beale Street Could Talk is an adaptation of a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin, which goes by the same title. It is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. It is his fifth novel.

James Baldwin is one of those authors who changes the way you view the world after reading his books. He cuts to the heart of discourse, especially over masculinity. I recently discovered his interviews with the celebrated poet Nikki Giovanni and I am entranced by them. But I digress.

If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1h 59m romance drama directed by Barry Jenkins of the Moonlight fame. Starring the multi-talented Regina King, Aunjanue Ellis, Stephen James, Brian Tylee Henry amongst others, the movie tells the story of a young couple Alonzo Fonny Hunt (played superbly by Stephen James) and Tish Rivers (played by Kiki Layne) who fall in love, but their love is tested by a false crime accusation against Alonzo.

My initial reaction to the movie was that it was slow and I kept waiting for it to pick up. The ending was very anti-climactic for me. However, in retrospect, it may have been a deliberate story telling tactic by the director and the movie writers who wanted to portray an accurate depiction of the times that the book was based on for context.

PASSION AND FAMILY

If Beale Street Could Talk focuses on Harlem in the 1970s and what it meant for the black families growing there and trying to raise their families under the white glare of racism and suspicion.

There is a tenderness in the love affair between Alonzo and Tish that cuts through cynicism and any jaded feeling of bitterness against love. The two believe that their love can conquer anything and it should be allowed to blossom even when their respective families may not be for it, especially Alonzo’s mum who is against Tish and feels that her son can and should do better.

Here is the thing, Regina King stands out in the movie in her portrayal of Sharon Rivers, Tish’s mum, and fully deserved the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, and I fully get that now. The compassion, strength, courage and wisdom that she exudes in her role was phenomenal. She is the silent strength behind the couple’s courage to accept what is happening to them and to fight the injustice of the false crime accusation. Sharon sees all and accepts all and she guides her husband and the entire family to rally around the couple and lend them their unequivocal support and encouragement.

Sharon goes all out in her desire to see the real perpetrator of the crime captured or at the very least build a narrative of the innocence of her future son-in-law. She spends considerable time, effort and resources to do this and we get to see a mother at work in fighting for her family.

This story line really sold the movie for me because I couldn’t imagine a mother in real life pulling all the stops in aiding her daughter’s boyfriend fight against the law. In fact, many mothers in the same predicament would probably do the opposite and advice their daughters to stay away from such a man.

Harlem, as laid out in the movie, is a wonderful place to live in, full of people willing to help one another. The ugliness of racism and the consequences of a black person being falsely accused of a crime that they didn’t commit is a harsh thing to witness. If Beale Street Could Talk is worth the hype.

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