This film was released on Friday 15th February 2019 and is no longer screening. 

AWARDS WATCH: Winner of Best Supporting Actress for Regina King at the Golden Globes, Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress. 

Barry Jenkins follows up Moonlight, his 2016 Oscar-winning triumph, with an exquisitely beautiful, swooningly romantic adaptation of the celebrated novel by James Baldwin (I am not your Negro).

The setting is 1950s Harlem. 19-year-old Tish (KiKi Layne) is married to 22-year-old sculptor Fonny (Stephan James) whom she has known since childhood. Their hopeful plans for the future are waylaid when Fonny is imprisoned having been falsely accused of rape. While he is incarcerated, Tish reveals she is pregnant. Jenkins poignantly juxtaposes Tish’s legal journey to seek justice for her husband, often confounded by institutional racism, with delicate scenes of the couple’s youthful courtship, the lush orchestral score and elegant photography combing to create an intoxicating cinematic experience.

Notes by David O’Mahony