One of the greatest aspects of filmmaking is not only entertaining the audience with a solid story, but giving them one that's profound and speaks volumes to them on a personal level. Some films also manage to serve as being mirrors or reflections of the world we live in while bringing current issues to life in a way that's understandable to the audience. In the case of
The Last Black Man In San Francisco, the film tackles a relevant subject in the Bay Area that deals with the issue of gentrification involving African-Americans with many finding themselves being pushed out of living in the city due to the spike in rent and mortgage.
The Last Black Man In San Francisco explores this reality with a story that not only feels both relatable as well as personal for the audience, but is also one that's emotionally absorbing, eye-opening, and genuinely well-told with the amount of sincerity behind its filmmaking. Powerful, moving, and affecting,
The Last Black Man In San Francisco is one of 2019's most understated films.
The plot for
The Last Black Man In San Francisco centers around a young man desperate to hang onto his grandfather's Victorian home in a progressive city that appears to be moving forward without him. One of the main aspects of the film that makes it a moving experience for its audience is how close to home it feels for them, particularly at a time where the cost of living in a city such as San Francisco is at an all time high. For many African-Americans as well as people of color, they find themselves not being able to afford it and feel as if they're essentially being pushed out of the city in exchange for wealthier people.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco explores that reality in a fashion that's tastefully done, hard-hitting, and noble with its intentions. The film is brilliantly well-acted, impressively written and directed with a message that hits at the heart of its audience with the film saying that there's hope in the face of gentrification, as well as the threat of being erased from a neighborhood that's progressively changed over the course of several decades regarding the issue of blacks finding themselves being pushed out of the city. The film most effectively serves as a reflection of a past time in a particular neighborhood in San Francisco, as well as showing the reality of what it is now. The most powerful aspect of the film that makes it work as well as it does is the amount of heart that both its filmmakers and actors display on the screen. The film is not just a story about loss but also one about friendship and what ultimately matters most, which in this case is shown to be ones family, friends, and legacy. At a time where the films themes and topics feel more relevant now than ever,
The Last Black Man In San Francisco provides audiences with an awareness of the world it shows but also gives them a reminder that losing their home or neighborhood doesn't change who they are or where they come from as friendships and family ties are both lasting and permanent. For a film that received so little attention during the 2019 award season, it has much to say regarding current issues that African-Americans face and rightly fight against.
One of the key elements that makes the film as effective as it ultimately turns out to be are the strong acting performances from its main leads as they bring enormous amounts of chemistry, heart, and emotion to the story. Jimmie Fails and Jonathan Majors both thrive and succeed as the films main characters Jimmie Fails and Montgomery Allen. Both actors manage to convey the appropriate amounts of emotion for their roles while making their characters likable, as well as being relatable and sympathetic. Out of the two performances, Fails delivers the stronger performance as himself essentially, a young man desperately trying to hold onto his families house. Fails both convincingly and poetically plays his character as someone who really cherishes his grandfather's house and loves it more than his own dysfunctional family, who are shown to not always be there for him. The audience feels the genuine sincerity behind his character, as well as his understanding of the current situation and desperation to hold onto an essential piece of his families legacy. Jonathan Majors does great work as Jimmie's loyal friend and playwright Montgomery. Majors performance like Fails is both thoughtful and emotionally charged, particularly in the scenes where he see's the emotion his friend displays with the slow realization that he's losing his grandfather's home to gentrification. He also does a solid job of conveying his characters struggles in regards to black masculinity as he's being targeted by the Chorus group with mean insults for being the oddball person in the neighborhood with a feminine touch to his personality. Both actors deliver impressive work here and help make the audience connect with their story. The rest of the supporting cast give notable performances including Danny Glover as Montgomery's blind grandfather, whom Fails stays with and watch. Glover brings a warmth and sense of heartbreak to his character with him wanting to spend time with Mont but realizes he's too busy with Jimmie. Tichina Arnold does well playing Jimmie's Aunt, Wanna Fails who gives both him and Mont (Montgomery) the furniture that was originally in Jimmie's grandfather's house. Rob Morgan is effective as Jimmie's estranged father James Sr. with the tense relationship between him and Jimmie being shown with the latter's frustration and disappointment at his fathers failure in regards to holding onto their grandfather's Victorian estate. Other strong supporting roles are Finn Wittrock as Jimmie and Mont's shady real estate agent Clayton Newsom and Jamal Trulove as Kofi, one of the street Chorus group of young men who pokes fun at Jimmie and Mont for being the oddball pair in the neighborhood, though ends up being the only one who understands the fascination the boys have for the house they're occupying. In regards to the films acting, the cast behind
The Last Black Man In San Francisco has much to do with why the film ultimately works as well as it does. The performances as a whole are both affecting and poignant with the way their characters are written and ultimately played out. The audience gets a feeling of genuine sincerity behind the casts performances as they not only set out to bring the story to the screen, but also to make a powerful statement regarding a current situation that's largely affecting African-Americans in the Bay Area along with delivering a message regarding hope. The performances are key here along with the passion behind the filmmakers desire to tell this story, and make it as relatable as possible for the audience to understand.
The films directing by Joe Talbot in his feature film debut, proves to be a solid effort as he gives the film an art-house feel to it while allowing the actors complete freedom to play their roles. He gives the film both a surrealistic and dream-like mood in which the emotions of both the characters, as well as the story are enhanced with the films overall look and feel making for an almost life-changing experience for the audience. Through Talbot's directing and strong visual work, he gives audiences the believability and feeling that they're in the neighborhood with these characters with his more personal approach. The cinematography is not only radiant and masterfully done, but proves to be most effective in enhancing the colors of the films settings, particularly the exterior shots of an often sunny San Francisco with the lighting being used to shine on the main characters, deliberately making them stand apart from the rest of the characters in the story. Each scene and shot whether its the main characters, the neighborhood, or the house itself looks as if it can be framed as a portrait hanging on a wall. The cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra, plays an integral part in getting the audience to see what it is that Jimmie loves about both his neighborhood and home, that makes him desperate to hold onto his place of residence there. The visual flare that both the director and cinematographer generate, works in terms of conveying those emotions to the audience. The friendship between Jimmie and Mont is also shown to be a strong and powerful bond as the filmmakers film as many shots with them in the same frame together as possible. Through the films camera work, Talbot captures the beauty of both San Francisco, as well as the home that Jimmie and Mont both occupy. The Victorian home that Jimmie occupies with Mont experiences a before and after look to it that reinforces both the affection and labor or love that the main characters have for restoring it back to its original state. The films pacing is slow-moving but also intended to be absorbing for the audience as both the dynamic between Jimmie and Mont's friendship is explored along with Jimmie's journey towards reclaiming his grandfather's house, as well as his efforts to maintain it. On a visual level, the films look and style are effective in regards to showing the innocence and beauty behind the story of a pair of friends trying to reclaim the others home in an environment that's constantly changing around them. The films set locations and neighborhood are well-chosen as they help to convey the feelings of nostalgia that Jimmie's character experiences in regards to revisiting his old house prior to moving back in along with showing the underlining beauty of SF. In that regard, Talbot impresses as a filmmaker along with how much he's able to make the audience connect with the main characters, while giving the film a striking look through the films stunning cinematography along with giving the characters a prideful presence.
The films screenwriting also by Joe Talbot along with Rob Richert and a story by Jimmie Fails (Whose life the films story is loosely based upon), is smartly written and profound with many of its themes addressed in the film along with a natural progression of the character arcs of both Jimmie and Mont. Although the main theme revolves around gentrification, the story is also about friendship, family, holding onto ones own piece of family legacy while remembering who one is and where they come from. The film is about one young man's fear and desperation of losing his family home while doing everything he can to hold onto it, even if his methods are questionable to others (Randomly moving into the house and introducing himself to the neighbor, who immediately suspects something is off given how quickly Jimmie moved into his grandfather's house after the previous owner left in addition to him looking like he can't afford the mortgage).
Displacement and identity are two key themes that dominate the story as Jimmie's grandfather's house represents Jimmie's family tree, along with a reminder of who he is with the displacement part of the story being the house being taken out of his possession through a legal form of robbery in an area that affects a massive number of blacks disproportionately. The concept of friendship is emphasized through the bond between Jimmie and Mont with the film hardening their friendship through showing how they stick together through hard times with Mont's character proving his loyalty to Jimmie. The script also contains moments and subplots that show how different their characters are from the rest of the neighborhood with the duo being constantly picked on by the Chorus group of young street kids, knocking on them for being different. Mont's character also experiences criticism directed at his masculinity in the film with specific members of the Chorus group criticizing his offbeat persona by citing he's too feminine for being a black man. The friendship between Jimmie and Mont serves as being the heart of the film with the strength and love their characters have for each other, giving the audience a sense of hope while watching the film that the end of the story will be somewhat uplifting. The films ultimate message is a heartbreaking and powerful one with it saying that losing ones home doesn't change who a person is or where they come from. For director Joe Talbot and actor/co-writer Jimmie Fails, the film serves as being both a mirror and reflection of their own upbringings as they witness the neighborhood they once grew up in change over the course of decades due to politics. The story works as well as it does and is ultimately moving because both the characters, as well as the films scenario feels real to the audience with it feeling timely and urgent despite the film being a brilliant work of art. The films greatest trait that's emphasized through it's writing, is the sincerity behind telling the story as the filmmakers know what they want to show and go about doing so with both confidence and respect for the audience they aim the film towards. The story was written and handled as a collaborative effort and it shows through the devotion that the cast and crew have towards showcasing a more intimate portrait of the beauty regarding Fail's neighborhood in San Francisco.
With all the strengths the film possesses, it's also not devoid of it's own share of faults with most being minor ones stemming from the films script. The movie gives minimal development to Jimmie's family, particularly his father and aunt who often feel as if they're just present to serve Jimmie's arc without them being thoroughly developed. The script also has moments where the audience hears about the shooting of one of the films side characters (Kofi) without the audience seeing what happened to them or why that subplots even included. There's also moments where gunshots are heard in the films background by the main characters with no implication as to where they came from or why they're there. One finds themselves asking what was the purpose of utilizing these elements if the filmmakers were never intending to explore them. Was it a police shooting? Was the side character gunned down by a gang or shot by police? The audience is never informed nor shown what happened or what those gun shots are meant to signify. The film often at times feels as if it wishes to explore all of the main conflicts and issues that African-Americans face within its story despite the film already juggling multiple character arcs and narratives that fit the overall meaning of the story much better. While the film carries faults that are minor, its steady hand in regards to the films directing as well as its noble attempts to bring a serious issue to light that plagues the black community, as well as delivering a powerful message of hope that says the loss of ones possession doesn't mean their family history is ultimately lost works well in regards to conveying the films message to the audience.
The Last Black Man In San Francisco is a film that poses some hard-hitting questions and harsh realities while presenting audiences with a powerful and reflective experience, that places them into the shoes of the main characters in regards to understanding their perspective with trying to live in a city that essentially feels like it's leaving them behind in terms of progression. For some, the harsh realities regarding the films story and underlining message may be too depressing and uncomfortable to watch. For others, the film serves as not just an awareness but also as a way to enlighten and inform others about a legit societal problem that plagues many people of color living in the Bay Area. One of the films most powerful lines that sums up the feelings that Jimmie Fail's character has towards losing his family home to gentrification is during a scene on a bus where he notices two young privileged caucasian women talking about their dislike of San Francisco. He overhears their dialogue and rejects it by saying "You don't get to hate San Francisco unless you love it." To them, they view his answer with both confusion and weirdness towards his response. For the audience, they perfectly understand Fail's meaning behind his piece of dialogue with him being angry at the current situation yet holds a sense of pride towards his neighborhood, as well as the city he calls home. It's such a subtle piece of dialogue that not only makes the end of the film an emotionally powerful one, but brings the entire film together while summing up the story as a whole.
The Last Black Man In San Francisco stands as being one of 2019's most overlooked films as it serves as not just being a well-executed and put together drama, but as a testament to the power of friendship, family, loss, and identity as one may be forced out of their place of origin, but they'll never forget who they are nor where they come from. In a time where the themes and story this film represents feel urgent, its overall uplifting message about strength in fighting for what's right is more relevant now than ever.
Final Verdict: For those looking for a strong impactful drama with solid acting and storytelling,
The Last Black Man In San Francisco is absolutely worth the watch as it's raw, unsettling, and powerful, especially given recent events.
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