The story’s dialogue is so powerful that it is easily over-delivered, but sometimes it is just plain cheesy. As a story of African-American life and struggle in 1970s New York, the film stays true to the beauty of the original novel, but not the grit, and certainly not the plot points.Įven those who have not read Baldwin’s original novel can probably envision how many of the scenes would be better on paper than on screen. But, New York is not as kind as it looks. Fonny is framed by a slimy cop for rape and sent to prison right as Tish, inconveniently, realizes she is pregnant.

New York is so picturesque it seems built for the characters, framing their walks together in glowing sunlight, vibrant colors and lush park trees. Within and throughout the city, the film revolves around the love story between young Tish (Kiki Layne) and Fonny (Stephen James). Beale Street is our legacy.” Here, Beale Street is all of New York, from Harlem to Greenwich Village (before it was a gentrified hipster mecca). A quote from Baldwin’s novel appears at the beginning of the film: “Every black person born in America was born on Beale Street, whether in Jackson, Mississippi, or in Harlem, New York. Beale Street is a literal place in Memphis, Tennessee, and also a reference to a blues song.

Although it is incredibly moving at certain moments, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is an ultimately disappointing film that is so sappy it ends up muddling its own message. It is a slice-of-life story that shows the repercussions of institutionalized injustice and the love between people trying to overcome it. “If Beale Street Could Talk” (2018) is the newest film by Barry Jenkins, the writer and director of “Moonlight” (2016) and the movie is an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel by the same name, which follows the trials and triumphs of a young black couple in New York.

James baldwin beale street blues