It’s great living in a world where a director like Oscar winner Barry Jenkins has the ability and freedom to make any movie he damn well wishes to make. After all, the man is visually gifted, especially in his talent for immaculately conceived close-ups. However, I can’t say the substance in “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Moonlight” warranted all those over-the-top raves from critics. There was something lacking in the rather simple ‘Beale’ story and ‘Moonlight,’ despite an absolutely enveloping first two acts kind of fell apart for me in its last third. Alas, I am still very much anticipating Jenkins’ fourth film [via Deadline] which will have him team up with Fox Searchlight for an as-of-yet untitled film based on the life of choreographer Alvin Ailey.
Read moreBarry Jenkins' Underwhelming “If Beale Street Could Talk" Wins Indie Spirit Awards
Consider me none-too-surprised, and unmoved, by the news that Barry Jenkins’ tepid love story “If Beale Street Could Talk” won Best Picture and Best Director at the 34th annual Indie Spirit Awards. The “Moonlight” writer-director’s adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel about racial injustice in America had beautiful photography, courtesy of James Laxton fine lenses, but could match its aesthetic prowess with thematic resonance. I am of the minority opinion when it comes to this film, alas, hopefully father time will make these sentiments age like fine wine.
Read moreOf Course, Regina King Doesn't Deserve the Oscar for “Beale Street”
Listen, Regina King’s performance in “If Beale Street Could Talk” was perfectly fine, but worthy of a Best Supporting Actress win? Of course not. Pundits and critics going the King route are either a) virtue signaling and/or b) a social media-backed wolf pack of Jenkins aficionados. Talk to most normal moviegoers that have nothing on the line except their unadorned and honest taste on movies and they will tell you King doesn’t deserve it. It doesn’t help that she was snubbed by SAG two months ago, ditto BAFTA.
Read more“Moonlight" director Barry Jenkins says growing up he was inspired by “Aliens," “Die Hard," and “Coming To America"
“Which films inspired him, growing up? “I wasn’t really inspired by film,” he says, “but I admired Spike Lee’s movies because they just felt very, very, very black. I remember watching School Daze and thinking, ‘What the hell is this?’ There were colleges for black people that just black people go to? And those colleges had all this shit going on? This is so energizing!
“Otherwise, it was the really big Hollywood stuff – The Color Purple, Aliens, Die Hard, Coming To America. I would catch the bus to go to the AMC theatre downtown. But I never thought, ‘Hey, maybe one day I might like to do that.’ It just didn’t seem possible.”
Barry Jenkins' 'If Beale Street Could Talk' Disappoints [TIFF]
Barry Jenkins' "Moonlight" was such a universally praised film that you knew whatever he made next would be met with tremendously high expectations. His decision to adapt James Baldwin's masterful 1974 novel "If Beale Street Could Talk" was unexpected but much welcome, as that novel's themes of social injustice, poverty, and racial disillusionment still very much resonate to this day.
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The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.