After debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival this month, Annapurna Pictures has finally released the first trailer for Barry Jenkin’s new film If Beale Street Could Talk. Based on the 1974 novel, the film is an adaptation of James Baldwin’s brilliant mind. Following his Academy Award-winning picture, Moonlight from 2016, Jenkin’s ability to highlight the black body in new spaces is unparalleled.
Set in the early 1970’s Beale Street starts KiKi Layne and Stephen James as a young romantic couple. Friends since childhood, 19-year-old Clementine “Tish” Rivers and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt fall in love and plan out a future, until Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Set to free her husband-to-be out of jail, Clementine races time before the birth of their child.
The movie also stars Regina King, Colman Domingo, Dave Franco, Atlanta’s Brian Tyree Henry and more.
If Beale Street Could Talk marks Jenkins’ first English-language feature film based on the work of Baldwin. This is Jenkins’ third movie, as he continues to establish his dedication to stories that showcase the power of love and family. The first look of the film came on what would have been James Baldwin’s 94th birthday, on Aug. 2. The Harlem love story hits the big screen on Nov. 30.
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