The Photograph                4 ½ stars

The Photograph from this year is a well told film about two different love affairs taking place in the past and present. It has an all black cast of mostly known actors and I found it refreshing to have such an all black movie that is not about police brutality and racial injustice. Michael (LaKeith Stanfield from Sorry to Bother You and Knives Out) is a magazine writer on a story about a photographer, Christina Eames who has just passed away. His investigation puts him in contact with Isaac, a New Orleans fisherman who has a relationship with her in the eighties and he is eventually led to Mae (Issa Rae of HBO’s Insecure and Little), a New York museum curator who is the deceased photographer’s daughter. Michael and Mae hit it off and try to have a relationship that has to deal with the complexities of their career intense lives. The other story about Christina and Isaac is also told as the two stories are intertwined. We see how young Christina resents being limited by her life with Isaac and wants more out of life. Her ambition is to be an artistic photographer is New York so life in New Orleans does not exactly appeal to her. There aren’t really any surprises in the movie and there aren’t any conflicts involving police or any other outside characters. It is basically a romance story about the challenges that these couples are facing through the realities of life. This is a nice relief given what we have been going through lately. Issa Rae shows that she can do more than comedy in this dramatic role. The movie also features Lil Rel Howery (from Get Out) as Michael’s brother and Rob Morgan (of Just Mercy, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and Mudbound) as the older Isaac. Law & Order fans might also recognize Courtney B. Vance as Mae’s father. The movie also features some smooth background music of R&B and jazz. I have seen only a few 2020 releases so this one has to be the best so far.