Review: An old-fashioned romance in ‘Sylvie’s Love’

It’s summertime in Harlem in 1957 when we get to know the beautiful souls at the center of “ Sylvie’s Love.” Sylvie (Tessa Thompson) works at the register of her father’s record store but dreams of a job in television. Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha) is a struggling saxophonist who spots her, and a help wanted sign, through the store window. Their attraction is immediate, but it’s not the only factor at play here. Anyone who’s ever seen a romantic drama knows that life will continue getting in the way of Sylvie and Robert’s love for the half decade we know them.

Written and directed by Eugene Ashe, “Sylvie’s Love” is an ode to classic melodramas, with sumptuous set design, gorgeous costumes and an enveloping soundtrack of mid-century hits. Its story feels familiar, but it’s also one that we haven’t seen nearly enough of: The simple fact of our protagonists’ skin color makes this homage radical and noteworthy.

While it doesn’t have the sweeping art and emotional weight of" If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Sylvie’s Love” has many charms. Thompson, for one, is wonderful as Sylvie, who is not your average romantic protagonist, especially for the time. Sylvie is naïve but also worldly, prim but also passionate and the world around her is bright and exciting and full of possibilities, even if her father (Lance Reddick) thinks her dream of working in television is far-fetched. And Thompson gives her a matinee elegance even in rolled up jeans.

Nnamdi Asomugha, left, and Tessa Thompson appear in a scene from "Sylvie's Love." (Amazon Studios via AP)

But Sylvie, we soon discover, is engaged. Her fiance, a businessman from a wealthy family who she met at a cotillion, is away in Korea and she’s simply biding her time before he comes back. The introduction of Robert, thus, is more than a little disruptive to these well-laid plans. Still, they begin to bond over music and shared and different passions and before the weather turns they are in a full-blown affair. The heady summer of new love comes to an abrupt halt though when her mother (Erica Gimpel) discovers what’s going on and Robert finds out his band has an opportunity to go to Paris. Sylvie, for her own reasons, does not accept his invitation to join.

Five years later they meet again, outside a theater where she’s found herself without a date for the evening and an extra ticket. Time and distance haven’t lessened their connection and the whole thing starts anew. Now, though, Sylvie is married and has a young daughter, and it is harder to justify the indiscretion this time around. She’s also recently gotten her dream job, as an assistant to the producer (Ryan Michelle Bathe) of a television cooking show.

Ashe has a background as a musician which is unsurprising. The music might as well have third billing to Thompson and Asomugha.

Nnamdi Asomugha, left, and Tessa Thompson appear in a scene from "Sylvie's Love." (Amazon Studios via AP)

The pace moves at a leisurely crawl, which may have been the point to simply luxuriate with these characters and this world, but it starts to feel a little like its spinning its wheels after they separate the first time. Thompson and Asomugha have undeniable chemistry and are best when in each other’s company on screen, but there’s a bit too much going on around them (including a full-fledged song and dance sequence with Eva Longoria, who is on screen for about five minutes total as the wife of his bandmate).

Asomugha, a former professional football player and husband to Kerry Washington, has a great screen presence and could really break out with the right role. “Sylvie’s Love,” which he also produced, isn’t quite that, but it is a solid performance in this undeniably pleasant and soulful film.

“Sylvie’s Love,” an Amazon Prime Video release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some sexual content, and smoking.” Running time: 114 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Tessa Thompson appears in a scene from "Sylvie's Love." (Nicola GoodeAmazon Studios via AP)

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MPAA Definition of PG-13: Parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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

Nnamdi Asomugha, left, and Tessa Thompson appear in a scene from "Sylvie's Love." (Nicola GoodeAmazon Studios via AP)

Aja Naomi King, left, and Tessa Thompson appear in a scene from "Sylvie's Love." (Amazon Studios via AP)

After more than 13 years at the helm of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy is stepping down from the “Star Wars” factory founded by George Lucas.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Thursday that it will now turn to Dave Filoni to steer “Star Wars,” as president and chief creative officer, into its sixth decade and beyond. Filoni, who served as the chief commercial officer of Lucasfilm, will inherit the mantle of one of the movies marquee franchises, alongside Lynwen Brennan, president and general manager of Lucasfilm’s businesses, who will serve as co-president.

“When George Lucas asked me to take over Lucasfilm upon his retirement, I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead,” said Kennedy. “It has been a true privilege to spend more than a decade working alongside the extraordinary talent at Lucasfilm."

Kennedy, Lucas’ handpicked successor, had presided over the ever-expanding science-fiction world of “Star Wars” since Disney acquired it in 2012. In announcing Thursday's news, Bob Iger, chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Co. called her “a visionary filmmaker.”

Kennedy oversaw a highly lucrative but often contentious period in “Star Wars” history that yielded a blockbuster trilogy and acclaimed streaming spinoffs such as “The Mandalorian” and “Andor,” yet found increasing frustration from longtime fans.

Under Kennedy’s stewardship, Lucasfilm amassed more than $5.6 billion in box office and helped establish Disney+ as a streaming destination — achievements that easily validated the $4.05 billion Disney plunked down for the company. But Kennedy also struggled to deliver the big-screen magic that Lucas captured in the original trilogy from the late 1970s and early 1980s, and her relationship with “Star Wars” loyalists became a saga of its own.

Filoni has established himself almost entirely on the small screen, entering the franchise with the animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and creating the tepidly received Disney+ series “Ahsoka.” Filoni, who first collaborated with Lucas on “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” has also been an executive producer on “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Skeleton Crew.”

Both will report to Alan Bergman, Disney Entertainment co-chairman.

“From Rey to Grogu, Kathy has overseen the greatest expansion in Star Wars storytelling on-screen that we have ever seen,” said Filoni. “I am incredibly grateful to Kathy, George, Bob Iger, and Alan Bergman for their trust and the opportunity to lead Lucasfilm in this new role, doing a job I truly love. May the Force be with you.”

Before joining Lucasfilm, Kennedy was one of Hollywood’s most successful producers ever. In 1981, she co-founded Amblin Entertainment with Steven Spielberg and her eventual husband, Frank Marshall. She produced “E.T.,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

At Lucasfilm, her biggest hit came at the start, with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” The J.J. Abrams-directed film grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. But the subsequent installment, Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” (2017), was bitterly divisive. The third film, Abrams’ “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019), was widely panned by critics and fans, alike.

After “The Rise of Skywalker,” “Star Wars” went dark on the big screen despite a litany of announced projects. The dry spell is set to be broken in May by Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian & Grogu.” The intervening years have been marked by streaming successes in “The Mandalorian” and “Andor,” but the future of “Star Wars” has felt increasingly uncertain.

Struggles over tone and vision have been frequent. The 2018 Han Solo spinoff “Solo: A Star Wars Story” saw its directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, fired during production and replaced by Ron Howard. Most found the mixed-and-matched result blandly disappointing.

More recently, Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the most recent “Star Wars” trilogy,” divulged to The Associated Press last year that he and Steven Soderbergh had developed a Ben Solo film with Kennedy and Lucasfilm’s support for two years before Disney chief Bob Iger nixed it. Fans were so irate that a plane was flown over Disney’s Burbank studios with a banner reading “Save ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo.’”

Instead, the only “Star Wars” movie of Kennedy’s stewardship to win widespread and prevailing approval from fans was arguably 2016’s “Rogue One.” Gareth Edwards’ spinoff was also a troubled production, leading to Tony Gilroy, eventual creator of “Andor,” overseeing reshoots. Yet despite that, “Rogue One” — taking place within “Star Wars” but outside of the main Jedi storyline — might be the only film of Kennedy’s “Star Wars” reign that managed to both stay true to the space odyssey’s tone and to break new ground.

Kennedy's fingerprints will be on many of coming “Star Wars” projects for years to come. That includes Shawn Levy's “Star Wars: Starfighter,” with Ryan Gosling, due out in May 2027, and a fleet of other projects in various stages of development.

FILE - Producer Kathleen Kennedy poses upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' June 26, 2023, in London. (Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Actor Keri Russell, left, and producer Kathleen Kennedy pose together at the AFI Awards at the Four Seasons in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

FILE - Film producer Kathleen Kennedy, left, and director Dave Filoni are welcomed by R2-D2 and C-3PO, right, as they appear on stage during a fan convention called the Star Wars Celebration in Chiba, near Tokyo, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

FILE - Kathleen Kennedy, winner of the BAFTA Fellowship, poses with her award backstage at the BAFTA Film Awards in central London, Feb. 2, 2020. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP, File)