“The white man has got to be the devil,” he says wearily, “because he sure ain’t a man. If Beale Street Could Talk and the Urgency of Black Love Barry Jenkins’s adaptation of the 1974 James Baldwin novel homes in on the familial tenderness that buoys the youthful protagonists. (Colman Domingo is similarly moving in his depiction of Tish’s uncompromisingly supportive father, Joseph.) In another unforgettable sequence, Fonny’s friend Daniel, played by Brian Tyree Henry, drops by for a beer, the two men’s banter turning deadly somber when Daniel recalls the abuse he endured during a recent stint in prison.
She’s the beating heart of some of the film’s finest scenes, including an early tableau when Fonny’s family visits for an important announcement and later, when Sharon travels to Puerto Rico in search of exoneration for her future son-in-law. Because Tish and Fonny are such subdued figures, so carefully choreographed within Jenkins’s mannered, thoughtfully composed frames, it’s the supporting characters in “If Beale Street Could Talk” who wind up being more vivid and indelible: Regina King has already earned a clutch of awards and nominations for her ferocious, tender portrayal of Tish’s mother, Sharon, and for good reason.
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