If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Set in early-1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is a tender, heartbreaking drama about young lovers torn apart by a racist legal system. Nineteen-year-old Tish and her twenty-two-year-old sculptor fiancé Fonny have been devoted to one another since childhood and are planning a future together when Fonny is wrongly arrested for the rape of a Puerto Rican woman after being targeted by a prejudiced cop. Pregnant and determined, Tish — supported by her sister, her mother Sharon, and Fonny’s family — fights to prove his innocence. Watching the film, you’ll experience an intimate, lyrical portrait of love and resilience: quiet domestic moments, vivid memories of the couple’s bond, and the pain of watching hope tested by injustice. The story balances romance and outrage, showing how a tight-knit Harlem community bands together to challenge a cruel system while honoring the tenderness at the center of Tish and Fonny’s relationship. Emotionally evocative and character-driven, the movie explores themes of trust, family, racial injustice, and the ways love sustains people through hardship. Expect to be moved — often painfully — by the performances, the period detail, and the film’s melancholy yet defiantly compassionate tone.

Actors: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King

Director: Barry Jenkins

Runtime: 119 min

Genres: Drama, Romance

6.3 /10 87 /100 7.1 /10 7.4 /10