Episode 727 - The Photograph (2020)

Hi everyone!

Welcome back for another Takeover Tuesday, and this one is going to be a real treat. I’m not going to lie. Kolby’s been straight teasing me about being on this podcast for about 18 months. Yeah, sure, he’s got his own podcast entitled Kolby Told Me, which you’ll hear about before the review. Yeah, sure, he’s co-host for the Minorites Report Podcast, that drops weekly doses of perspective on popular culture. But, it wasn’t until I sent him the Puss In Boots meme with the saucer-eyes and welling up tears that he finally broke and said he would do it. That’s because we get our guests here at One Movie Punch the old-fashioned way. By guilt-tripping. Kolby will be up in a moment with his review, along with his personal promo beforehand. Thanks for making the time, Kolby!

Speaking of Takeover Tuesday, do you think you have what it takes to guest on One Movie Punch? Head over to onemoviepunch.com/takeover-tuesday and learn more about how you can guest here at One Movie Punch. We still have three (3) slots available this quarter for aspiring and established film critics to take the reins for an episode. We’ll run your promo before the review and will place it in regular rotation for the quarter. If it sounds like something interesting to you, reach out to us over social media.

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Here we go!

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<< KOLBY TOLD ME PROMO >>

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THE PHOTOGRAPH (2020) centers on Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield), a journalist touring a distressed town in Louisiana, set to interview one of its residents, Isaac (Rob Morgan). Isaac details his life, his struggles, his accomplishments and regrets. Michael comes across a photograph of a striking young woman who he’s told is Christina Eames (Chanté Adams), a famed photographer from New York who was his greatest love that got away. Michael’s focus shifts and so does his story which leads him to Christina’s daughter, Mae (Issa Rae). She’s been grappling with the complex emotions of Christina’s recent and unexpected passing and it’s not made any easier because of their estranged relationship. She finds several letters and a photograph tucked away in a safe-deposit box. She begins delving deep into her mother’s early life and this photograph serendipitously unites her and Michael in an unexpected romance that changes the way they both view life and love.

Writer/Director Stella Meghie crafts a simple and tender love story between two couples across different periods in time. The narrative construction of the screenplay is very much poetic and almost lyrical in its design. Her direction is sleek and displays an intentional highlight of the characters in this story and how they move in the world she’s built. There’s a subdued, yet melodic and jazzed grit to the outer New Orleans 1980s love story between Isaac and Christina, juxtaposed to the smooth and refined Neo-Soul infused eroticism of Michael and Mae’s New York romance. Both distinct, but both tracing similar journeys of intense passion and unmet expectations. The dueling stories progress the plot delicately to both Michael and Mae, that takes twists neither of them could’ve expected yet are fulfilled authentically in the end.

I was skeptical of what LaKeith and Issa could bring to the screen in their 1st big shot at leading roles, and I’m glad to say they blew me away. Their chemistry was evident, and their sexuality was steamy. The entire ensemble worked well balancing the other injections of comedy and drama throughout the film, particularly, Lil’ Rel Howery’s Kyle, older brother to Michael. He was an always welcomed sage, offering these anecdotes of wisdom with his comedic flair.

What makes this story unique, is not the grandiose love affair we’ve become inundated with, but how this film revels in its simplicity. Which may also serve to what could limit this films appeal to some audiences. It’s not often we are given Black love stories not infused with overt comedy. Comedy paces a film, and without it, were left to stew in the aches of an all too real love that takes work. That can get uncomfortable. It can leave you having a tougher time investing in this honest love story were sharing with these characters and, if you can’t relate, you can feel detached. I contend, its these smaller love stories that make this film all the more special. THE PHOTOGRAPH should serve as a reminder of the small stories in our own lives we take for granted we don’t get the chance to see play out in cinema and how fighting for love is always worth it.

THE PHOTOGRAPH (2020) is simply gorgeous. I’m filled with pride over this film’s production, its intention of offering a Black Love story, lead by a majority Black Cast, centered on these characters not in a Black Struggle, written and directed by a Black Woman, and catered to an audience that needs more of these narratives on the big screen to normalize the small stories we should celebrate of our Black experience, but is also universal as well.

Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

Metacritic: 63

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10

THE PHOTOGRAPH (2020) is rated PG-13 and is currently playing in theaters.