Audience feedback for “If Beale Street Could Talk”

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There were 24 reaction slips returned following the screening of this film.  The results were:

  • ‘Excellent’: 12 votes
  • ‘Very Good’: 9 votes
  • ‘Good’: 3 votes
  • ‘Satisfactory’: 0 votes
  • ‘Poor’: 0 votes

To read all the comments, click on the following link:
Audience feedback for “If Beale Street Could Talk’

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3 thoughts on “Audience feedback for “If Beale Street Could Talk””

  1. I found ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ extraordinarily average in many ways. The direction lacked imagination with far too may close-up shot reaction shot conversations and cringingly awful, and in some places repetitive, ‘on-the-nose’ script eg: ‘I love you.’ ‘I know you do’. zzzzzz.
    The director seemed to me to assume audience approval for the hitting of Fonny’s mother -‘serve you right’. Ouch.
    The ‘sex scenes’ were from male point of view, as usual, and incongrously glossy: pure old-school and indeed contemporary Hollywood style. So often we look over the shoulder of the man in film representations of sexual activity, (or little activity).
    There was very little character development of the protagonists. For example, how did Fonny handle being in prison? We need to see rather than merely be fed with one sentence expositions or a facial bruise. How did Tish cope as a one-parent mother? Minor characters, introduced as of significance, were cast aside when narrative convenience no longer required them eg: Daniel Carty.
    The film had good intentions but on this occasion I think Mr. Kermode, and a chorus of other critics, have been far too ready to lavish praise based on this criterion, (and to show their capacity to empathise, reach for their hankies), while not providing perceptive analysis of the film’s merits, or lack of them, per se.

    I’m moved to write this as the vast majority of films shown at the Film Club are, to my mind, superb (apart from the ghastly Elle- what did the wonderful Isabelle Huppert think she was doing working with Verhoeven knowing his CV?), thanks to the judgement, magnificent efforts and competence of the committee members.

  2. I appreciate what you are saying, but most of your criticisms can be explained by the source material – which is written in the 1st person from Tish’s viewpoint. The frequent narrative voice-overs from Tish underline that Barry Jenkins is sticking quite close to James Baldwin’s novel. Thus much of the film will be subjective – given the vindictive comments made by Mrs Hunt (“That child was born of sin, and the Holy Ghost is gon’ cause it to shrivel in your womb”), it is Tish’s viewpoint that she got what was coming to her. Similarly, Fonny is not likely to want to elaborate on the numerous cuts and bruises he sustains in prison (which Tish, obviously, cannot fail to notice) and the love scenes would be idealised recollections of the times spent together.

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