|
Director Barry Jenkins on his latest,
If Beale Street Could Talk
By Iain Blair
Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk, a follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight, looks certain to be an awards show darling. It has already picked up three Golden Globe noms — Best Drama Motion Picture, Best Screenplay for Jenkins and Best Supporting Actress
for Regina King.
Based on the 1974 novel by writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, the film tells the story of a young black couple — Clementine “Tish” Rivers (KiKi Layne) and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (Stephan James) — who grow up together in Harlem and get engaged. But their romantic dreams soon begin to dissolve under the harsh glare of white authority and racism when Fonny is falsely accused of rape and thrown in jail, just as Tish realizes she is pregnant with their child.
While the couple is the focus of the film, the family drama also features a large ensemble cast that includes King as Tish’s mother and Colman Domingo as her father, along with Michael Beach, Brian Tyree Henry, Diego Luna, Pedro Pascal and Dave Franco.
Behind the camera, Jenkins reteamed with Moonlight cinematographer James Laxton, editors Nat Sanders and Joi McMillion, and composer Nick Britell.
I recently spoke with Jenkins about making the film and workflow.
It’s always a challenge to adapt an acclaimed novel for the screen. How tough was this one?
It was extremely tough, especially since I love James Baldwin so much. Every step of the way, you’re deciding at which point you have to be completely faithful to the material. Then you have to decide where it’s okay to break away from the text and make it your own for the movie version.
In 2013, I went to Europe to get away and write the screenplay. I also wrote one for Moonlight, which then ended up happening first. This was a harder project to get made. Moonlight was smaller and more controllable. And this is told from a female’s perspective, so there were a lot of challenges.
Read More >
|
|
 
|
