Your parents are the first teachers you ever have in life. They teach you how to walk, how to speak, and a host of other basic aspects of human existence that you carry with you for the duration of your time on Earth. Apart from the basics of functioning as a human, they also teach you through the example of how they live their own lives, whom they interact with, and how. This too sticks with us even if we may not be fully aware of the extent that it does. If the example they set is a poor one, overcoming this learned dysfunction can be difficult and if that doesn’t happen, this unsoundness can be passed from one generation to the next. The latest film from director/writer Stella Meghie explores how the sins of our forebears can affect our present and future.
The Photograph is a love story whose subjects meet by happenstance as many whirlwind romances do. Journalist Michael Block (Lakeith Stanfield) embarks to Louisiana while doing a story on the impact an oil spill has had on local fishermen. While interviewing Issac Jefferson (Rob Morgan), old photographs taken by Issac’s former sweetheart Christina Eames (Chanté Adams) catch his eye. Michael tracks down Christina’s daughter Mae Morton (Issa Rae) in an attempt to learn more about the photographer and falls for Mae in the process. As Michael and Mae attempt to connect despite their troubles with love, we learn more about Christina’s life before Mae was born and how that may affect what the future holds for the young couple in the present.
The main takeaway from The Photograph is the effect that generational trauma and curses have on our lives. What we see from Mae and her maternal lineage is that the reaction that the women in the family have toward love and romance is learned behavior passed down from mother to daughter, right down to Christina keeping her terminal illness to herself, just as her mother had kept her mortality from her. But this is a love story and the inability to connect healthily displayed by Mae was begotten from Christina who got it from her own mother, as we see in the film. The experiences of these branches in a family tree align with old adages about how we all learn to love. The relationships we witness our parents involve themselves in, for better or for worse, mold what we eventually seek for ourselves, if even subconsciously. Christina saw in her mother a woman who forged temporary, superfluous bonds with men in their house, who wouldn’t even be around long enough to bother asking Christina’s name. While she may not have realized it, this affected Christina’s interactions with men in her life, unable to form bonds strong enough to even say goodbye and she cavalierly embarked on her next adventure, in search of something “more”, more than what she had in the moment.
In tales of witches determined to do evil, all curses have a formula allowing them to be broken and while real life generational curses are some of the hardest to disrupt, they can fall just the same. Self reflection may be less in vogue than it has ever been, but it is paramount in stopping vicious cycles that we inherit, which Mae eventually realizes and is key in bringing her back to Michael. Mae comes to find that holding back from expressing her true feelings is the road block to her being able to accept healthy versions of love, as her maternal line has been cursed with. in conversations with his brother Kyle (Lil Rel Howery) throughout the film, Michael also realizes that it is pride that has forced him into a cycle of quickly ignited, quickly squelched love affairs and only when both put their egos to the side are they able to find the closeness to another they’ve been seeking. And aren’t both the denial of our prideful selves and being willing to look deep at ourselves and our flaws the secret to improving our lives and finding happiness, be it in love or existence itself? Whatever obstacle we find in front of us, knowing ourselves and having the humility to confront our fears and anxieties will always us to climb the barriers holding us back from where we want to be. Love may conquer all, but only our fully formed selves can conquer love or whatever else is in the way.
The Photograph features some great work from a plethora of black acting talent, beginning with the two stars portraying the couple at the film’s center, Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield. Issa and Lakeith Stanfield are believable as damaged paramours drawn to each other but battling the internal strife that has kept them from love for so long. Rob Morgan continues his scene stealing streak as a powerful supporting character, giving a moving performance as Issac. Chanté Adams builds upon her work in 2017’s Roxanne Roxanne offering an outstanding performance of a young woman stuck between love, dysfunction, and her dreams. Her role as Christina operates as almost the lead of a separate story within a story, which could have worked to destroy the film’s cohesiveness and overall quality, but Adams’ performance helps greatly in giving the subplot its own weight and value, elevating the film as a whole.
Stella Meghie does a fantastic job balancing and interweaving two separate love stories set in two different time periods in under two hours. The stories flow seamlessly and even when we leave the main plot involving Mae and Michael, it never really feels as if we’re totally leaving them behind since Christina’s story so informs who Mae is and her background. The Photograph is a tender love story that just teeters the line between hokeyness and feeling genuine. The comedy in the film is organic and feels natural within the character’s interactions and behavior, adding to the feeling of realism in this relatable love story. The film’s look and feel are also top notch, the music in particular which is dope. dope. dope. The soundtrack played throughout the 1980s storyline is a black millennial’s dream ranging from Whitney to Luther to every classic black R&B track you grew up listening to in the car with your mom or while cleaning up at home on Saturday afternoons. Famed jazz musician Robert Glasper’s score is the perfect jazzy compliment to film depicting a black love story, evoking memories of Terence Blanchard’s work in vintage Spike Lee films. Director of photography Mark Schwartzbard does a fantastic job lighting darker skin, imbuing Issa Rae especially with radiance. The Photograph is very well made and has a chance to enter the pantheon of Black romance films over time.
Image: Universal Pictures
