THE PHOTOGRAPH

LaKeith Stanfield     Issa Rae     Kelvin Harrison, Jr.    Chanté Adams

Rob Morgan     Lil Rel Howery     Courtney B. Vance

     The most unusual technique in this film is that the life of the mother of one of the main protagonists is highlighted in accounting for a love story that transpires years later.  It works because the mother’s personality and her decisions (advanced for the time) are so fascinating.  Christine Eames (Adams) leaves her home (and the man she loves) in New Orleans to pursue her dream of making a name for herself in photography in New York. She leaves without saying goodbye to her love, Isaac (Morgan), assuming that he will be there when she returns.

     We learn about that couple off and on in flashbacks.  But the immediate story is about Michael Block (Stanfield), a reporter for a magazine in New York, The Republic.  He is assigned to do a story about Eames, and goes to New Orleans, to interview Isaac, who talks about Christine and shows him some of her photographs.  That leads him back to the Queens Museum in New York where Mae Morton (Rae) is the assistant curator.  

     Much of the rest of the story is about Michael and Mae in a “will they or won’t they?” kind of scenario.  The fascinating part is how writer/director Stella Meghie weaves the two generational stories together in themes of missed opportunities that seem fated and the suggestion of a larger role that fate plays in humans’ lives.

     The acting is exemplary for the most part.  Issa Rae in particular evokes mystery and beauty seemingly effortlessly. I have always loved LaKeith Stanfield, especially in Sorry to Bother You, but in this role he is not as effective, primarily because of the script, which has made his character less desirable (sort of shifty, unwilling to commit, unable to express emotion).  Writer/director Stella Meghie has created lead characters, both of them having a difficult time expressing themselves.  The characterizations of Issa’s mother and Isaac (played by Chanté Adams and Rob Morgan), as well as step-father Louis Morton (Vance) evoke our interest and make us want to know more about them.

     I think the story presented is very romantic but in a muted form.  It moves a bit slowly, and is probably not the best choice for a Valentine’s date, although it will be opening on Valentine’s Day.

A “will they or won’t they?” romantic drama that is made more interesting by weaving in the parents’ stories.

Grade:  C+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LITTLE

Regina Hall     Issa Rae     Tracee Ellis Ross     Marley Taylor

     Little follows the premise that traits you had as a child follow you into adulthood.  I don’t know exactly why the filmmakers (writers/director Tina Gordon and Tracy Oliver) came to the conclusion that we needed a black version of Freaky Friday, because, as said in the trailer, “We don’t have time for that.”  Yet, here we are with another adult-child transformation as a means of promoting insight in an adult who has become narcissistic and demanding.

     Jordan Sanders (Hall) has become a successful businesswoman after suffering humiliations as a teenager.  She thinks she has succeeded by devaluing everyone around her, even those who clearly care about her—especially her loyal assistant April (Rae)—so that she always ends up on top.   

     In a clever twist of fate, she encounters a young “magician” (Taylor) who, after Jordan is rude to her, dismissing her as a child (e.g., nonsignificant), waves her wand and proclaims that Jordan will be little again.  Which actually does happen at a critical time in Jordan’s company when its major sponsor is threatening to withdraw.

     It throws the company into chaos—now in April’s hands to restore, since Jordan is reduced to being a child and must attend school.  We see April diffidently taking up the reins, Jordan trying to guide her as a child behind the scenes (literally, in her ear).  This becomes one of the best depictions in a movie of a talented assistant desperately trying to function as a prototype of a boss rather than using her own voice.

     The film resolves all the troublesome situations in a fairly typical way, with those who need it developing insight and those deserving recognition getting it—all with a few laughs about human foibles along the way.  

     The stars Regina Hall and Issa Rae are outstanding in this production. Your eyes are on them the whole time, not just in what they are saying, but their capturing your complete attention.  They are the movie. It seems to me that the writing is simply not up to their star power.  It’s a script that hits the bases, but doesn’t inspire or amaze. 

The stars are the reason to see this film.

Grade:  C                                          By Donna R. Copeland