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The enchanting If Beale Street Could Talk is writer-director Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight. An adaptation of the James Baldwin book of the same name, the film follows the relationship of friends-turned-lovers Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) in early 1970s New York. Just as the world seems to be opening up with possibilities for the young couple, the American justice system closes in on Fonny, who is falsely accused of rape and imprisoned. Tish and her family must fight to free him, a struggle lent extra urgency when Tish discovers she is expecting his child.
This is an unabashedly political film. Photographs of chain gangs and state violence against black Americans are shown on screen alongside Fonny’s bleeding, battered face. In one particularly memorable moment, Tish, through a voice-over, describes the underhanded creepiness of the white men who approach her at the job she takes at a department store perfume counter.
But ultimately, this is a film about the ties of loyalty and duty that bind families together. As the forces of an institutionally racist and callously indifferent state lay siege to Tish’s family unit, mother fights for father, sister defends sister, father comforts daughter and mother-in-law stands up for son-in-law. This is a portrait of what family will do to protect family when the world is against them. It’s a story told with great humanity and the audience is drawn into its empathy: you feel the nervous rush of romance, the awkwardness of a first night spent together, the grasping horror of a loved one slipping out of reach. This is a film that simply sings with emotion.
Layne and James brim with tender, yet intense youthful love in the lead roles. The supporting cast are equally exemplary, with Regina King (who picked up the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the role) and Teyonah Parris putting in particularly charismatic and compelling performances as Tish’s mother and sister respectively.
Visually, the film is a thing of beauty. The sets, lighting, cinematography, even the seventies-style costumes are all wonderful. Mention must also be made of the gorgeous score, which captures a certain fretful tenderness, the perfect accompaniment to the entwined stories of Tish and Fonny’s romance and Tish’s fight to free Fonny.
All in all, this is a simply exquisite film. That it did not follow Moonlight’s path to Oscars glory (not so much as picking up a measly nomination for Best Picture) is baffling.
