Great ensemble cast.
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Blair Underwood still fine.
Michael Ealy been fine.
Had a thing for Tristan Mack Wilds for a good lil’ minute. He still fine.
Kofi Siriboe is beyond.
Just…
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I enjoyed this film, but the lead acting performances from Siriboe and newcomer Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing lacked intimacy during almost every moment, except for their intimate scenes.
They did not seem to possess the chemistry that would make me believe they were really fighting for their love or to be together. Siriboe plays Isaiah Maxwell, a rising painter from the District of Columbia, who meets Stevie Solomon (Wong-Loi-Sing), an ambitious Georgetown law student, at his mentor’s art show. They reconnect through a mutual friend couple and begin a friendship.
They built a friendship, then a romantic relationship, that seemed progressively artificial the longer it developed. I could tell the actors were acting and it didn’t helped that the montages of their companionship lacked an intensifying score.
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I also noticed some editing issues. When Stevie and her friend, played by the absolutely stunning Jade Eshete, enjoyed Ethiopian coffee at a local shop, there’s a transition between close and medium shots where the coffee cups and the friend’s hands were not reset, and the cup placements did not match up with subsequent scenes.
The editing also did not help with the film’s pacing. There were too many moments when longing or subtle glances between the leads just felt unnatural or too obvious.
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Mack Wilds was as believable as a DC native as Method Man 🧀🧀 was a Baltimore native in “The Wire.” The “young” and “moe” slang felt strained. 🥴🥴🥴
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In all, I’m loving this era of trauma-free Black romances. I loved the setting—the highlights of D.C. were both modest and apparent. (I know that’s oxymoronic, but it works.) I hit the Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” meme a few times.
I think I’m spoiled though. The last believable, nuanced Black relationship I’ve seen on screen was Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson’s Donnie and Bianca in “Creed” (2015). Before that…”Love Jones” (1997), perhaps?
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I look forward to director Angel Kristi Williams’ next work. And the casting department deserves trophies—a job well done! 🏆🏆