I had an argument with someone the other day about “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.” And, surprisingly, I was actually defending the movie (despite my C+ review at Sundance). This person, a female of white-privilege, expressed disappointment in finding out that “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” was directed by a white man and not a person of color. She liked the movie when she saw it back in Boston, but, at the same time, she had thought, at the time, that it was directed by a black filmmaker. And so, she now finds the movie is of a lesser quality, all because it didn’t come from a black perspective. Hypocritical? Maybe.
‘Last Black Man’ is heavily influenced by Spike Lee’s filmmaking. Much like Lee's films, it examines race relations, gentrification and urban poverty in Black America. These themes, and Lee’s immaculate style of filmmaking (a few Lee-esque dolly shots show up) are used by Talbot in the movie. Of course, there is nothing wrong in finding your own directorial voice by using exterior influences. But, something tells me, that my friend can’t surely be the only person complaining about Talbot being white. That’s just the way it goes these days — who is telling the story is more important than how the story is told.