The Photograph (2020)

[McCrutchy]

Universal will release Stella Meghie's The Photograph (2020) on May 12th, 2020.

[McCrutchy]

Blu-ray.com REVIEW

[TwinCitiesBluFan]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Blu-ray.com REVIEW

Ahh, nice review! This is another one I wanted to see in theaters, so I've been excited to see it. Target just confirmed my pre-order shipped, so I'll get to see it soon.

Anyone else seen it? Would love to hear what other folks think!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by TwinCitiesBluFan

Anyone else seen it? Would love to hear what other folks think!

Here's my movie content review that I wrote after seeing it at the theater...


When Michael, an aspiring New York City journalist played by LaKeith Stanfield, becomes intrigued with an old photograph while on assignment, love stories from the past and present collide and intertwine. The picture subject in question is Christina, a young woman played by Chanté Adams, who left her man, played by Y'lan Noel, behind in 1989 so that she could move from Louisiana to New York in order to turn her passion of taking pictures into a career. Michael's research leads him to Christina's estranged daughter, Mae, a Queens Museum curator played by Issa Rae. As Michael and Mae fall for each other in present day, the joy and heartbreak of Christina's own relationship is explored through flashbacks.

The 2020 romantic drama, The Photograph, written and directed by Stella Meghie, has received an indifferent reception from critics who describe it as a film that is too detached and introspective to resound with audiences on Valentine's Day weekend, but this viewer disagrees. I will concede that this endeavor lacks the reliable by-the-numbers narrative of a typical rom-com storyline, but I also fell head over heels with the organic and non-forced way that it presents a more poignant and sincere look at the real-life struggles to balance love with career ambition, especially in modern times, and at the soul-crushing burden of regrets for words not spoken or risks not taken in our pasts. The well-paced “meet-cute” aspects of Michael and Mae's transition to a first date and a handful of intelligently comedic scenes featuring Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) as Michael's brother keep the end result from feeling like a dirge, but this movie effectively balances contrivances with genuinely resonant curveballs.

Stanfield, who most recently made a splash in 2019 with unforgettable supporting parts in Knives Out and Uncut Gems after appearing in earlier titles like Get Out, Straight Outta Compton, and The Girl in the Spider's Web, is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary actors because of his coolheaded ability to melt into any character type imaginable. Rae, in turn, delivers a masterfully nuanced turn as an emotionally guarded person whose discovery of her mother's past triumphs and failures compels her to seek what she truly wants. Rob Morgan, who commanded my attention as a death row inmate in Just Mercy, delivers a quietly accomplished performance as an elder man who looks back on his past life with Adams's Christina with mixed emotions and yearning in such a way that we the viewers can feel the weight on his shoulders. The younger incarnation of Morgan's character, portrayed outstandingly by Noel, elicits sympathy in an effortless manner.

The proceedings as we are transported back and forth from one era in time to another are graced with my favorite use of film music in recent memory. A supremely relaxed jazzy music score by Robert Glasper is embellished by R&B numbers from Lucky Daye, Erykah Badu, and H.E.R. Christina's backstory is brought to life with outstanding 1980s tunes from Karyn White, Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, and Rufus and Chaka Khan. Finally, the always-amazing Al Green, whose song, “Let's Stay Together”, was number one on my birthday in 1972, is featured in a pivotal moment.

Thanks to the music and cinematography, The Photograph has an irresistibly lived-in feel to it, like an old pair of blue jeans or a broken-in leather chair. The ensemble cast brings it all home with performances that are warmly authentic even when the plot takes an occasional convenient road. The masses may not feel that this movie gets off the ground in the way that it should, but I loved these characters, and, as Michael tells Mae, I want to spend more time getting to know them. That is the highest compliment that I can bestow on a fictional cinematic story.

I am giving this one four and half stars for great acting, for brilliant music, and for coolness in general.

[TwinCitiesBluFan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my movie content review that I wrote after seeing it at the theater...


When Michael, an aspiring New York City journalist played by LaKeith Stanfield, becomes intrigued with an old photograph while on assignment, love stories from the past and present collide and intertwine. The picture subject in question is Christina, a young woman played by Chanté Adams, who left her man, played by Y'lan Noel, behind in 1989 so that she could move from Louisiana to New York in order to turn her passion of taking pictures into a career. Michael's research leads him to Christina's estranged daughter, Mae, a Queens Museum curator played by Issa Rae. As Michael and Mae fall for each other in present day, the joy and heartbreak of Christina's own relationship is explored through flashbacks.

The 2020 romantic drama, The Photograph, written and directed by Stella Meghie, has received an indifferent reception from critics who describe it as a film that is too detached and introspective to resound with audiences on Valentine's Day weekend, but this viewer disagrees. I will concede that this endeavor lacks the reliable by-the-numbers narrative of a typical rom-com storyline, but I also fell head over heels with the organic and non-forced way that it presents a more poignant and sincere look at the real-life struggles to balance love with career ambition, especially in modern times, and at the soul-crushing burden of regrets for words not spoken or risks not taken in our pasts. The well-paced “meet-cute” aspects of Michael and Mae's transition to a first date and a handful of intelligently comedic scenes featuring Lil Rel Howery (Get Out) as Michael's brother keep the end result from feeling like a dirge, but this movie effectively balances contrivances with genuinely resonant curveballs.

Stanfield, who most recently made a splash in 2019 with unforgettable supporting parts in Knives Out and Uncut Gems after appearing in earlier titles like Get Out, Straight Outta Compton, and The Girl in the Spider's Web, is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary actors because of his coolheaded ability to melt into any character type imaginable. Rae, in turn, delivers a masterfully nuanced turn as an emotionally guarded person whose discovery of her mother's past triumphs and failures compels her to seek what she truly wants. Rob Morgan, who commanded my attention as a death row inmate in Just Mercy, delivers a quietly accomplished performance as an elder man who looks back on his past life with Adams's Christina with mixed emotions and yearning in such a way that we the viewers can feel the weight on his shoulders. The younger incarnation of Morgan's character, portrayed outstandingly by Noel, elicits sympathy in an effortless manner.

The proceedings as we are transported back and forth from one era in time to another are graced with my favorite use of film music in recent memory. A supremely relaxed jazzy music score by Robert Glasper is embellished by R&B numbers from Lucky Daye, Erykah Badu, and H.E.R. Christina's backstory is brought to life with outstanding 1980s tunes from Karyn White, Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, and Rufus and Chaka Khan. Finally, the always-amazing Al Green, whose song, “Let's Stay Together”, was number one on my birthday in 1972, is featured in a pivotal moment.

Thanks to the music and cinematography, The Photograph has an irresistibly lived-in feel to it, like an old pair of blue jeans or a broken-in leather chair. The ensemble cast brings it all home with performances that are warmly authentic even when the plot takes an occasional convenient road. The masses may not feel that this movie gets off the ground in the way that it should, but I loved these characters, and, as Michael tells Mae, I want to spend more time getting to know them. That is the highest compliment that I can bestow on a fictional cinematic story.

I am giving this one four and half stars for great acting, for brilliant music, and for coolness in general.

Wow, great review! Thanks for sharing.

[TwinCitiesBluFan]

I watched this myself and I really enjoyed it! An immersive story, solid acting, and a really nice, jazzy soundtrack. Really glad I got this!