Review: The Photograph

When it comes to movies, I tend to gravitate to the ones that I would enjoy the most. When researching the film, I always search for two things: the cast and the showtimes. I never rely on movie reviews from the most popular newspapers and magazines. I don't allow others to dictate if I should see it or not. My main reasoning for spending my hard-earned money on projects like this is in hopes of it doing well in the movie theatres and to give traction for other movies to create stories documenting the black experience. These movie studios love to follow the money and the numbers. With that being said I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on the movie and the characters Mae and Michael played by Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield.

The movie title "The Photograph."

The title seems self-explanatory, but it comes with complications. Mae's mother, Christina Eames, a well-known photographer, passed away from cancer "unexpectedly." After Christina's passing, she left her daughter a safe deposit box filled with letters and photos of her mother. The messages and pictures paint a picture of the life her mother lived. The doubt, ambition, regrets, and faults were all described through letters and photos. It's up to Mae to study her mother with hopes of getting a better understanding of her mother and, most importantly, herself.

The Review

What had me intrigued from the start was the music. It wasn't overbearing but, it brought an essence to each scene. From the smooth voice of Luther Vandross "If This World Were Mine" to the soulful sound of Ari Lennox, you get a nostalgic range of music that puts you back into time. The momentum at the beginning of the movie started strong. Guy meets girl, girl meets guy, has a few conversations, a couple of laughs and a love scene, and you would think that it would be the end. But of course, it didn't turn out that way. As Mae continues to read the letters from her mother, she acknowledges her flaws. The constant questions of "Will I find love?" and 'Am I deserving of love?" linger in the background. Many would say that the movie was somewhat "slow" to that I say that is more of a reflection on you the viewer than the movie. With social media and "Likes," people fall in love with each other to quickly. Again, the film has subtle reminders of the mid 90's early 2000's love story.

The setting of the movie gives a backdrop of the pace of the relationship. It first takes place in New York. The fast pace hustle and bustle of the streets. The energy of the city can dictate the life in which you live. When Michael first laid eyes on Mae, his goal was to catch her, impress her, and claim her. When he travels to New Orleans in a more relaxed setting, he's contemplating if this relationship will work based on the many hurdles, he has to overcome with her.

I felt like a big chunk of the movie more so surrounded Mae's mother than Mae. The audience witnesses many flaws of her mother, but it doesn't paint the picture on how she inherited those flaws from her mother. I was hoping for more of an emotional rollercoaster from Mae. Some chapters were missing that didn't add up for me. All in all, the chemistry amongst Issa and LaKeith was beautiful to see. It made you the viewer root for them. Between the two, it shows who has more experience as an actor. We all know that Issa is excellent with her comedy; she can make a room of people laugh without question. I just felt like if she would've dug a little deeper and tap into the character Mae, it would've made the story a little bit more believable. In some scenes, she seemed a little stiff.

I am proud of the representation of the film and how it shows on screen. The film steered away from the typical mommy or daddy issues and growing up in the ghettos of improvised cities. Its main goal was to show the many layers of love and commitment that you don't see from the black experience. One thought I took away from the movie that I would hope others would think about is when we are in the beginning stages of relationships do we (you) fall in love with a person based off of their "potential" or does that love start based off of who they are in that moment? I think some individuals bask in the thought of how they feel the dynamic of the relationship would be instead of enjoying the moment that is in front of them.

If you are looking for a simple love story, I would suggest you see this movie. I hope that it serves as a reflection on how you view love and relationships.