In If Beale Street Could Talk, a young and deeply in love couple is torn apart after a false rape accusation.
I spent two hours watching If Beale Street Could Talk and I wasn’t quite sure what happened. The film wasn’t what I was expecting; it was ponderous, a bit forgettable, and ultimately just fine.
The first English-language film adaptation of a James Baldwin novel, the Barry Jenkins–helmed If Beale Street Could Talk is set in 1970s Harlem. It follows the story of Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne), a young and deeply in love black couple torn apart after Fonny is falsely accused of raping a woman and thrown in jail. After learning that she’s pregnant, Tish and her family race to clear Fonny’s name and get him out of prison before the baby is born so their life together can continue.
