Review: 'If Beale Street Could Talk' is lyrical and lovely

"Every black person born in America was born on Beale Street...whether in Jackson, Mississippi, or in Harlem, New York," reads the title card that begins director Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk ."

The quote is from a 1974 James Baldwin novel, which Jenkins has adapted himself for his first film since 2016's "Moonlight." The story is, loosely, about a pregnant woman, Tish (KiKi Layne, a phenomenal breakout) and her partner Fonny (Stephan James), who has been wrongly jailed for a crime he didn't commit. Tish and Fonny are both achingly young and beautiful, full of promise and hope even amid all the institutional obstacles and injustices that they face in daily life in 1970s Harlem, like not being able to rent their own apartment, or buy groceries at the local mart without being reassessed by a police officer.

Their future, however, is dashed when Fonny is jailed because a woman across town has wrongly identified him as her rapist. Tish has to tell Fonny she's pregnant through a glass window. Somehow, at least at first, the circumstances aren't enough to break their spirits, although there is the sense that both are just putting on a brave face for the other.

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Stephan James, left, and Brian Tyree Henry in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

Back at home, Tish's family celebrates their daughter. Mom, Sharon (Regina King in a powerful performance), sister, Ernestine (Teyonah Parris) and dad, Joseph (Colman Domingo), open up the sherry, put on a record and call Fonny's family over to continue spreading the news.

There are three wholly unforgettable scenes in "If Beale Street Could Talk," and the electric showdown between Fonny's religious and snobbish mother (Aunjanue Ellis) and Tish's family is one of them. Another is a stirringly haunting monologue from Brian Tyree Henry, which unfortunately is really his only significant scene in the film, and the third is Sharon's heartbreaking talk with Fonny's accuser. All are well-worth the price of admission

Not everything works totally, in between these barnburners there is a lot of sleepy down time (still gorgeously shot and scored) and a few moments that just don't quite work the way they probably should, like Dave Franco as an empathetic Jewish landlord who just loves love.

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Stephan James in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

The film plays more like a free verse poem than a traditional narrative, jumping back and forth between moments chronicling the origins of Tish and Fonny's relationship, and Tish's struggle to prove Fonny's innocence in the present.

Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton ("Moonlight") use close ups, and straight on shots of his actors looking right into the camera as though they are speaking to the audience and daring them to notice. It's startlingly impactful and bold, like the perfectly bright clothes costumer Caroline Eselin has chosen to help flesh out this world and its characters. Does anyone use colors as perfectly as Jenkins does? Whether it's a red leather booth or a yellow coat, everything in his frame is there for a reason, and every shot is like its own beautiful painting come to life.

The whole production makes the film a transporting experience, heady and intoxicating, but perhaps the most important ingredient in bringing it all together is Nicholas Britell's elegantly subtle and heartrending score.

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Teyonah Parris, from left, KiKi Layne and Regina King in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

"Moonlight" is a hard act to follow, and while "Beale Street" might not quite reach the heights of Jenkins' instant classic of a best picture-winner, it is its own kind of marvel, lovely, transcendent, heartbreaking and as smooth as its jazzy soundtrack.

"If Beale Street Could Talk," an Annapurna Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "language and some sexual content." Running time: 119 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

MPAA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows KiKi Layne, left, and Colman Domingo in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Teyonah Parris in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Regina King in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

This image released by Annapurna Pictures shows Stephan James in a scene from "If Beale Street Could Talk." (Tatum MangusAnnapurna Pictures via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian court on Friday ordered the detention of the country’s farm minister in the latest high-profile corruption investigation, while Kyiv security officials assessed how they can recover lost battlefield momentum in the war against Russia.

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court ruled that Agriculture Minister Oleksandr Solskyi should be held in custody for 60 days, but he was released after paying bail of 75 million hryvnias ($1.77 million), a statement said.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau suspects Solskyi headed an organized crime group that between 2017 and 2021 unlawfully obtained land worth 291 million hryvnias ($6.85 million) and attempted to obtain other land worth 190 million hryvnias ($4.47 million).

Ukraine is trying to root out corruption that has long dogged the country. A dragnet over the past two years has seen Ukraine’s defense minister, top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials lose their jobs.

That has caused embarrassment and unease as Ukraine receives tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to help fight Russia’s army, and the European Union and NATO have demanded widespread anti-graft measures before Kyiv can realize its ambition of joining the blocs.

In Ukraine's capital, doctors and ambulance crews evacuated patients from a children’s hospital on Friday after a video circulated online saying Russia planned to attack it.

Parents hefting bags of clothes, toys and food carried toddlers and led young children from the Kyiv City Children’s Hospital No. 1 on the outskirts of the city. Medics helped them into a fleet of waiting ambulances to be transported to other facilities.

In the video, a security official from Russian ally Belarus alleged that military personnel were based in the hospital. Kyiv city authorities said that the claim was “a lie and provocation.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that civic authorities were awaiting an assessment from security services before deciding when it was safe to reopen the hospital.

“We cannot risk the lives of our children,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold online talks Friday with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which has been the key international organization coordinating the delivery of weapons and other aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said late Thursday that the meeting would discuss how to turn around Ukraine’s fortunes on the battlefield. The Kremlin’s forces have gained an edge over Kyiv’s army in recent months as Ukraine grappled with a shortage of ammunition and troops.

Russia, despite sustaining high losses, has been taking control of small settlements as part of its effort to drive deeper into eastern Ukraine after capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the U.K. defense ministry said Friday.

It’s been slow going for the Kremlin’s troops in eastern Ukraine and is likely to stay that way, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar is vulnerable to the Russian onslaught, which is using glide bombs — powerful Soviet-era weapons that were originally unguided but have been retrofitted with a navigational targeting system — that obliterate targets.

“Russian forces do pose a credible threat of seizing Chasiv Yar, although they may not be able to do so rapidly,” the Washington-based think tank said late Thursday.

It added that Russian commanders are likely seeking to advance as much as possible before the arrival in the coming weeks and months of new U.S. military aid, which was held up for six months by political differences in Congress.

While that U.S. help wasn’t forthcoming, Ukraine’s European partners didn’t pick up the slack, according to German’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which tracks Ukraine support.

“The European aid in recent months is nowhere near enough to fill the gap left by the lack of U.S. assistance, particularly in the area of ammunition and artillery shells,” it said in a report Thursday.

Ukraine is making a broad effort to take back the initiative in the war after more than two years of fighting. It plans to manufacture more of its own weapons in the future, and is clamping down on young people avoiding conscription, though it will take time to process and train any new recruits.

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Ukrainian young acting student Gleb Batonskiy plays piano in a public park in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)