dark mode light mode Search Menu

Sundance 2025 Review: Rachael Abigail Holder’s Lovely “Love, Brooklyn” Shows a Sensitivity to Change

Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise make a solid central trio for this charming tale of life’s impermanence.

It isn’t a stretch to feel like you’re in the same boat as Roger (Andre Holland) in “Love, Brooklyn,” a film of laid-back charm and unhurried pace that so precisely articulates the precarious position of its lead, who fails to notice the changes in the world around him to the point it may pass him by completely, that it may seem as if nothing is happening at all. For Roger, this is actually a professional concern as much of a personal one when he pitched a piece entitled “The Evolving City” to his editor, presumably about the gentrification sweeping through this native Bushwick, but he doesn’t necessarily agree with its thesis anymore, less eager to argue when he’s found a comfort in surrendering and he doesn’t need to risk much to get by when he’s a little too aware of how suave he can be for his own good.

At first, Rachael Abigail Holder’s disarming comedy wouldn’t seem to demand much of itself either as it pairs three of this generation’s most exciting actors in a quasi-romantic roundelay where the central question is whether love can conquer all. A welcome throwback to late ‘90s films where Black filmmakers added an “e” to the end of the “urban” designation they were so routinely assigned, the unfortunate realization that it’s still rare to have films like “Love Jones,” “The Wood” and “Hav Plenty” come along makes the sight of Holland, Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise let loose in a light comedy is a treat in and of itself. But any nostalgia that “Love, Brooklyn” conjures or an invitation to relax becomes an effective weapon for Holder as the script from Paul Zimmerman warns against ever getting too comfortable as the ground can only be depended upon to constantly shift beneath your feet.

Roger may know this is true from the new buildings in his neighborhood, but his focus on that has prevented it from seeing the people around him clearly as he carries on relationships with two women, both predicated on having no commitment attached. He is the “non-boyfriend” to Nicole (Wise) – her words, not his – who isn’t looking for a partner after her husband’s death, but does welcome Roger into her bedroom for occasional late-night visits and is largely unconcerned with the fact that he still sees his ex Casey (Beharie) all the time. All three can consider themselves single, but stuck being beholden to something. It would make sense for Roger and Nicole to get more serious for the sake of stability when the latter has a young daughter to think of, but the idea of making that kind of investment again isn’t immediately appealing to her. And although Casey and Roger have a natural ease around one another that could take them well into old age, Casey has trouble seeing a future with him or really in general as she’s questioning the life she’s built as the owner of a boutique art gallery that’s become an enticing bit of property for the developers taking over the neighborhood.

Casey, in many ways, ends up becoming the metronome for the film more than Roger, with a standout turn from Beharie as someone who projects a sturdy confidence, but you can see the wheels constantly turning in her head. The “Miss Juneteenth” star will let a random movement flow from her shoulders to her arms or have a funny voice escape that shows how playful the character is in Roger’s company, but also a desire to shake things up in her mind that the rest of her being resists when she may not be able to full execute on it. The film may largely share Roger’s nonchalant attitude, but this is where it diverges in its point of view, picking up on the paralysis of its characters who cling on to what they know for too long to notice what they’re holding onto isn’t exactly the same. Although it operates on a generally low boil, “Love, Brooklyn” comes to resemble the pot of water on the stove that starts out feeling like a warm bath and the result ends up sizzling.

“Love, Brooklyn” will screen again at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1st at 2:45 pm at the Broadway Centre Cinemas in Salt Lake City and February 2nd at 12:30 pm at the Holiday Village Cinemas. It will also be available online through February 2nd via the Sundance virtual platform.

Total
0
Shares
Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.