I wish I had more to say about Beale Street, but all I can call it is heartbreaking. It filled me with a tension that so many black films fill me with, where I’m waiting for an ultimate, inevitable cruelness to set in, and so paralyzed by that waiting that I watch it more like a horror film. But there is no cruel twist coming. It’s all there from the beginning. And although it is more than anything a story about love and the lengths we go to see that love through, it’s a story about how much longer that length is when your very existence denies you to the right to live a peaceful life.

Every black person born in America was born on Beale Street, born in the black neighborhood of some American city, whether in Jackson, Mississippi, or in Harlem, New York. Beale Street is our legacy.

Barry Jenkins could film himself taking a shit and it’d probably be one of the most beautiful things I’ll ever see.

Very formal - precise and controlled in almost every aspect of Barry's direction. Quite refreshing being that the docu-style is so overused these days.

Very much like Moonlight, I am drawn towards the very strong supporting actors, all bringing complexity and levity to characters that have very limited screen time - Colman Domingo as Tish’s father, Teyonah Parris as Tish’s sister and a powerful "cameo" from Brian Tyree Henry.

Screened at the Ray Kurtzman Theater at CAA.

i love James Baldwin's book, but it's a testament to Barry Jenkins' talent that many of the most beautiful parts of this adaptation are of his own invention (Dave Franco's scene being a clear and particularly moving example). what an extraordinary, generous, perseverant film this is.

as with ROMA and BURNING i feel the need to see it again before i say anything more, but yeah… Barry Jenkins: not bad at making movies.

this movie made me feel helpless, hopeful, sad, happy, broken, fixed, enraged, calm, and at peace all at the same time.

“you ready for this?”

so immaculate that it’s almost untouchable in a way, like looking at artwork through glass. it’s still a sight to behold, but feels slightly inaccessible somehow. the story and how it’s presented and mixed up is my biggest issue here, but it’s overall packaged so carefully and beautifully that i find i didn’t mind much at all in the end

and nicholas britell really did it again: this is easily the best score of the year. my goosebumps were continuous

I look forward to many years of hearing this movie’s magnificent score and then stopping whatever I’m doing to listen to it while taking several long, deep sighs.

gonna trick my racist grandma into watching this saying its an eastenders spin-off about ian beale

almost unfair how beautiful it is. and brian tyree henry always makes me very happy. i think we can all take comfort knowing the hfpa and the academy are made up of different voters

this is a perfect film, the world just isn’t ready for it

"Unbow your head." 

the waltz of life and love and hope. there is no greater force of good on this earth than barry jenkins' camera.

if beale street could talk it would ask me to stop crying during its entire run time

“We were bound to each other, flesh of each other’s flesh.”

Barry Jenkins knows how to shoot a movie. Every shot in this and moonlight are so carefully crafted, it just feels like a director who has a real passion for what he is creating. I can feel the emotion coming out of every little detail in this and that is when I know that what Barry Jenkins is doing is extremely personal, and intimate. So beautiful. 

There is something about the song choices of Barry Jenkins that completely add to the story telling, and a creation of the mood. They always seem so powerful in a scene, yet never take over that moment, just enhancing every other bit of filmmaking going on.

“I hope that no one has ever had to look at anybody they love through glass.”

”I don’t want to sound foolish, but remember love is what brought you here. And if you’ve trusted love this far, don’t panic now. Trust it all the way.”

every scene and its accompanying score had me holding my breath and just absorbing its beauty.

Oh hey look, another Barry Jenkins masterpiece!

(Perfect.)

MUSIC IS UNREAL. I listen to the soundtrack to sleep. The storytelling and videography is also stunning. So is the performances by the cast

The score! The portrayal of love on screen! Made me 🥰 and 😤 successfully.

"Moonlight" got all the prizes, but this is, I think, the superior work - a gorgeous, heartbreaking, lyrical work of art.

“If you've trusted love this far, don't panic now. Trust it all the way.”

The cinematography and Nicholas Britell’s score are everything!! You just fall in love and dream just by listening to it ✨

Eine Großartige Hauptdarstellerin, ein perfekter Score, wunderschöne Kameraarbeit und das harmonische  Set-Design erzeugen einen einzigartigen Film. Lediglich Stephan James konnte mich nicht überzeugen.

😢

Barry Jenkins continues to do what he does with powerful visuals with a vibrant aesthetic and dense yet minimally presented storytelling but this time adapting a James Baldwin novel to significant success. As thematically rich and tonally perfected as it is immediately pertinent and substantial this clash of past and present auteurs cements Jenkins as a significant modern voice and Baldwin as a personal blind spot in literature that needs rectifying. Bolstered by a powerful ensemble cast with a standout performance from Regina King, which shouldn't be all that surprising coming from one of the hardest working women in show business but it's nice to see her finally get some well-deserved recognition. Pacing could have but kicked up a bit but that my only gripe and it's minor. Theirs really a lot to love here.

Would recommend.

Such a beautiful film. The score was absolutely incredible.