- Read Nikki's review of The Photograph.
On Valentine’s Day, Issa Rae (HBO’s Insecure, Little) and LaKeith Stanfield (FX's Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You) connect in a romance where a woman must learn from the secrets in her mother’s past if she is to move forward and allow herself to love and be loved.
The Photograph is in theaters on February 14th, 2020.
The Photograph hits theatres this chilly Valentine’s Day weekend. I haven’t watched any trailers to this movie but I enjoy romantic movies. So going into this movie, I had no idea what this movie was about. I was very excited also considering there hasn’t been many romantic movies coming out lately. After watching this movie, I will say this one was pretty decent and felt like a real love story than ones that we have all imagined and seen.
This movie is about a very well respected photographer named Christina (Chante Adams) who has passed away and left her daughter Mae (Issa Rae) a letter exposing her secrets and hoping Mae will understand her life choices. Michael (LaKeith Stanfield) is a newspaper journalist who is working on a piece about Christina’s death, which requires a lot of research. Of course, the research leads him to fall so deep into Mae. They begin a sexual relationship while also getting to know each other, with questions about Michael’s very recent relationship and also conversations about their future. Through all this, Mae is trying to not only find herself, but also gaining a relationship with a parent who is no longer with her and never understood.
This movie takes place between two periods, very much like the movie ‘The Notebook’ (I know you’ve seen it). The time periods are the future, Mae and Michael, and then the past is around Christina’s earlier life in the 1980’s. I will say I did enjoy and find myself more interested in the past. I was very curious and very interested in Christina and Isaac more than Mae and Michael’s relationship. Going off that, I also felt that Adams and Noel had a closer connection. I felt their chemistry more than I did for Mae and Michael. There were times I felt the movie dragged. These parts were the parts between Michael and Mae. I do however think Rae and Stanfield are effortlessly funny performers.
I did like how the movie felt very real. Usually romantic movies seem too good to be true and they go on and live ‘happily ever after.’ Not this one. This one is very realistic. I did like that and feel like people can connect to this movie more than other romantic movies. I did enjoy watching this movie. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for romantic movies. This one was pretty good.
If you and your significant other have zero valentines weekend plans, I would definitely say to go out and see this movie. It will keep you entertained.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Nikki Castaneda (Contributor) is a Chicago Native who loves watching movies (some definitely more than once). Her favorite genres include Thrillers and Dramas. When she's not at the movies you can most likely find her at a live concert, singing along to a Disney classic or binge watching Netflix.Click Here to check out Nicolette's Articles.