Annapurna has released the finalIf Beale Street Could Talktrailer. The new movie from directorBarry Jenkins(Moonlight) is based off the novel by James Baldwin and follows couple Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) as they try to hold together in the face of systemic racism that threatens to tear them apart when Tish gets pregnant and Fonny is thrown in jail for a crime he did not commit.
It’s been fascinating to see the reactions toIf Beale Street Could Talkamong critics. Some are absolutely awestruck by Jenkins’ movie, and I wish I shared their enthusiasm. Others, like myself, have been left cold by the movie, unable to navigate its intertwined themes of personal love and social injustice. The movie was originally supposed to open this month, but Annapurna pushed it back to December, and I’m curious if audiences will take to the picture or if they’ll opt for something else.
Check out theIf Beale Street Could Talktrailer below. The film opens December 14th and also starsRegina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Beach, Ed Skrein, Diego Luna, Dave Franco, andPedro Pascal.
Here’s the official synopsis forIf Beale Street Could Talk:
Set in early-1970s Harlem,If Beale Street Could Talkis a timeless and moving love story of both a couple’s unbreakable bond and the African-American family’s empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (screen newcomer KiKi Layne). A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.
Through the unique intimacy and power of cinema,If Beale Street Could Talkhonors the author’s prescient words and imagery, charting the emotional currents navigated in an unforgiving and racially biased world as the filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure.
