THE STORY – Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city.
THE CAST – André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman & Cadence Reese
THE TEAM – Rachael Abigail Holder (Director) & Paul Zimmerman (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 97 Minutes
A warmth permeates Rachael Abigail Holder’s directorial debut, “Love, Brooklyn.” As Roger (André Holland) bikes around Brooklyn, New York, we take in the tones and textures of the borough, slowing down and admiring its beauty. This slow pace is where “Love, Brooklyn” shines, bringing a slight but welcome charming energy even as Roger juggles complicated relationships. While the film itself can get a bit muddled in what it’s trying to say, this breezy energy never goes away, making for a confident directorial debut from Holder.
Roger’s a writer, though he can’t seem to focus on what he wants to write about, much to his editors’ chagrin. We pick up bits of what he’s working on, such as a piece on how gentrification is pushing out Black-owned businesses from the borough. Still, the film glosses over these observations in favor of examining Roger’s relationships with two particular women. He’s been seeing Nicole (DeWanda Wise), a widow with a young daughter who seems to get along with him just fine. They haven’t really labeled what they’ve got going on between them, but they hang out enough that it’s clearly something meaningful to both of them without any real commitment. That doesn’t stop him from testing the waters with his ex-girlfriend, art dealer Casey (Nicole Beharie), with whom he clearly still shares a romantic spark, as evidenced by their chemistry together. She and Roger spend time roaming museums or grabbing dinner, though neither is sure if they want to revisit their past. Ultimately, it’s Roger who doesn’t know what he wants. He’s putting off committing to anything in both his relationships and work.
Holland, Beharie, and Wise deliver effortless performances, as their banter and flirtation come naturally to them, creating some warm scenes that feel lively and lived-in in a relatable way. All three actors have been excelling in film for years, but we rarely get to see them flexing some comedic muscles, too. Holland and Beharie laugh and joke with the easy familiarity of long-time exes, while he and Wise have a more palpable physical connection and a cooler tone to their relationship. Each conversation, whether it’s walking around the park or hooking up, just feels so authentic in its intimacy and small details. “Love, Brooklyn” effectively captures Roger’s life and love with welcoming cinematography full of rich colors and natural lighting. Even as Roger wrestles with tough choices, the film seems to be full of admiration for the beauty of life’s possibilities and the joy of living.
While filmmaking is gorgeous, the script can feel less focused. As Roger wrestles with the feelings he has for both women, he leans on whoever’s making life easier for him that day. But just like Roger, the film doesn’t seem to know what it wants. It seems to want to be a broader story about gentrification and the way Brooklyn is bouncing back after COVID-19. These are important themes, to be sure, but they serve only as an afterthought, underbaked next to the rest of this triangular romance. We simply don’t see enough of his process or hear about what’s driving Roger’s procrastination. That doesn’t mean it’s without insights, but they’re few and far between, without effectively connecting to the relationship drama playing out between Roger, Nicole, and Casey. Instead, little is fleshed out about Roger’s world away from Casey and Nicole. He’s just a guy who needs to grow up a bit and decide what he wants, which can get a bit old without much else to prop up this character we’ve seen so often before.
“Love, Brooklyn” may be slight, but the richness of the performances from Holland, Beharie, and Wise makes it worthwhile. It’s a low-key sort of romance with a maturity in its approach that is deeply felt and appreciated. Even with a love triangle in the mix, the drama never becomes absurd or bluntly manufactured. It settles into the reality of their relationships, with the same admiring eye that makes Roger’s bike rides so engrossing to take in. The warmth of the imagery extends to the tone of the film, making for a film you can get lost in, even if the screenplay, like its main character, is lost itself.
