Love, Brooklyn feels like a love letter to the borough, past relationships, and possibilities that allow nostalgia and inspiration to seep into the audience despite its disingenuousness regarding gentrification.
Love, Brooklyn, playing at Sundance Film Festival, is a romantic drama that overlays a man torn between what was and what’s now with the gentrification of Brooklyn, pushing out the people who built the borough’s culture. Utilizing the skillful talents of its cast to pull viewers into interpersonal relationships deepens the joyous moments and awkward silences. The score and music add to some of the most pivotal moments as the film captures relationships in the ever-changing borough. Love, Brooklyn feels like a love letter to the borough, past relationships, and possibilities that allow nostalgia and inspiration to seep into the audience despite its disingenuousness regarding gentrification.
Director Rachael Holder (Dickinson, Run the World) captures this story with stunning and genuine visuals of the city’s beauty while capturing the turmoil of Roger, played by André Holland (Exhibiting Forgiveness, Bones and All), as he struggles with writing an article praising the evolution of Brooklyn. Writer Paul Zimmerman shows those awkward, sometimes uncomfortable moments between former flames Roger and Casey, played by the phenomenal Nicole Beharie (Miss Juneteenth, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.). Yet, there is also a seamless ease in falling into patterns that seem like a relationship. Sometimes distance adds perspective.
Love, Brooklyn Captures the “Don’t Look Back”
The film’s primary focus is exploring change and facing forward. It’s about what it takes to be ready to face the next chapter in one’s life. However, Roger faces challenges in his work and personal life. He still pines for his ex, Casey. As such, his relationship of mutually beneficial hookups with Nicole, played by DeWanda Wise (The Harder They Fall, Imaginary), feels stagnant one moment and hopeful the next. Love, Brooklyn employs dialogue, but also uncomfortable longing looks to capture Roger’s torn feelings.
Love, Brooklyn Has An Outstanding Cast Who Each Bring Their Characters to Life
The cast in Love, Brooklyn display their united and individual challenges. André Holland brings Roger’s inner conflict to exterior life. Tying in his performance are Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise. Beharie is a powerhouse actress who can convey so much nuance with a single expression. Meanwhile, Wise shifts between a strong mother and a grief-stricken widow who feels the pain anew. Cadence Reese, who plays her daughter, Abby, is a darling who also struggles with losing her father. The movie captures how grief is not linear, coming and going in waves, leaving one bereft.
Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back
The theme of not getting stuck in the past plays out in these trios’ lives. But Roger has the added stress of attempting to reconcile his earlier optimism about the changes in Brooklyn with reality. That’s the one area where it feels flat. Roger knows the culture that brought vibrancy and genuine beauty to the borough is vanishing.
Gentrification forces out the culture for one of a lighter shade. It raises the rents, leaving those who called Brooklyn home for years, even generations, out. Love, Brooklyn decides to use its theme to drive home an affection for its evolution. But what gentrification transforms it into is often far more homogeneous and artificial than what came before. As someone who lives in New York, there’s little difference between Park Place and a gentrified neighborhood. Except that the latter pretends to buck the status quo while contributing to it by pushing out local inhabitants and shops.
A Romantic Journey of Acceptance
Despite the frustration of gentrification, Love, Brooklyn is a moving and beautiful tale of what it takes to move on, featuring music that belongs on a playlist alongside its score. Director Rachael Holder shows her love for setting as much as characters with her keen eye for capturing the best shots for each scene. The central focus of Black relationships makes this stand out even more because the experiences and lenses on viewing the world are different.
It reminds me how much I miss films like Love Jones. We need more movies like Love, Brooklyn, Nicole Beharie, and more of Rachael Holder’s gift for direction. It’s a love letter to change, for better or worse, but emphasizes the need to keep moving forward. For a recent one on streaming, I recommend Rye Lane.
