The PHOTOGRAPH: Pretty, But Bland

Valentine’s Day is the best day of the year to binge your list of romantic films. From classics like An Affair To Remember to new favorites like Crazy Rich Asians to guilty pleasures like Down To You. Whether you’re in a relationship or not, there’s one day where we can all stop lying to ourselves and embrace the hopeless romantic. Unfortunately, writer-director Stella Meghie‘s The Photograph probably won’t make it to the movie marathon.

Released for the Valentine’s Day weekend, The Photograph should be the mushy, eyelash batting, heart-warming romantic drama. Despite the release date, Meghie doesn’t play through all of the beats one might expect. She’s going for something with a little more substance. The result is the exact opposite. The Photograph is a film with beautiful production design, and a great cast that is working with material below their talent levels.

Identity Crisis

When Mae’s (Issa Rae) mother Christina, a celebrated photographer, passes away, she finds herself wondering what made her mother the complicated woman she was. At the same time, journalist Michael (Lakeith Stanfield) begins work on a story about a man connected to Christina’s past. Mae and Michael’s dual investigations bring them together in a way they don’t expect.

The biggest problem with The Photograph is that it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It opens with Michael interviewing Isaac, Christina’s former love, and then Mae finding a box of her mother’s items. By the time our lead couple meets, we know more about Christina than either of them. Throughout, the film cuts back and forth between the main love story and Christina’s, which makes the entire thing feel empty. As soon as you get comfortable following Mae and Michael’s romantic journey, the film abruptly cuts away to 1980s Louisiana, and starts to follow Christina and Isaac’s. It seems like Mae and Michael are supposed to be the topic of focus, but the flashbacks go on for so long it doesn’t quite feel like they are.

The number of scenes dilutes the ones we do see. With the constant jumping back and forth, we don’t get to know any of the characters at all. We basically know everything that happened between Christina and Isaac from the very beginning, through his recollecting to Michael and a letter Christina wrote to Mae before she died. So when tensions arise in the flashbacks, there’s nothing to feel besides boredom. And those abrupt cuts aren’t just apparent in the time switches. Scenes in the present often cut away as a method of avoiding explanation. There’s a sequence where the main pair has to leave Mae’s house during a rainstorm, which Michael compares to Hurricane Irene. There’s no near accident or struggles. They just hop in a cab and suddenly they’re at Michael’s brothers home.

Speaking of that letter, it’s confusing why the film has its title. There’s no secret message in the photograph. In fact, I’m not sure which of Christina’s photographs they’re really referring to. This isn’t the only weakness in the script. There’s a subplot between Mae and Michael’s friends (Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Jasmine Cephas Jones) which is seemingly in the movie just because. Overall, most of the film feels like several ideas Meghie had and loosely stitched together. And the jazz-inspired score and beautiful visuals can’t save that.

Actors Unchallenged

It’s pretty shocking how many talented people are in a film that completely underserves their talent. Lakeith Stanfield just had an incredible 2019 with roles in the critically acclaimed Knives Out and Uncut Gems, which were follow ups to another critically acclaimed film, Sorry To Bother You. Nothing he is given in The Photograph shows an inch of what he’s capable of, although there’s no denying his charm. You don’t need a great script to understand why Mae falls for him. Issa Rae is a multi-faceted filmmaker, having created and starred in Insecure. While the film Little was not a great one, she was hilarious in it. In this, we only briefly see Mae without other characters, giving her absolutely no sense of personality, besides a throwaway line where Michael implies she’s uptight. Rae deserved better than this.

The two of them are able to somewhat save the lack of depth with their natural chemistry. Although we don’t really know why it is that these two have such a strong connection, you don’t doubt that it is there. The two radiate electricity together, which raises the idea that they definitely need to collaborate again. Only next time, with something better written.

Emmy Award Winner Courtney B. Vance is in the film for two unnecessary scenes as Mae’s father. Why get someone as talented as Vance just to give him such a nothing role? Lil Rel Howery is carving out a great niche for himself with comedic supporting roles in Get Out, Brittany Runs a Marathon, and Good Boys just to name a few. Jasmine Cephas Jones of “Hamilton” fame was very funny as Mae’s friend, Rachel, but she’s barely in the movie. By far the most egregious example of underserving someone is Kelvin Harrison Jr. as an intern who works with Michael. To be fair, the filmmakers probably weren’t aware of his amazing work on Luce and Waves while filming. But after his breakout year, it’s shocking to see him do so little.

The Photograph: Conclusion

There are definitely moments in The Photograph that briefly feel like the Valentine’s Day treat it should be. But ultimately, the film falls flat. The actors involved and Meghie herself are all capable of much more than the movie gives them to do. Here’s to a 2020 with better work from all.

What did you think of The Photograph? Let us know below!

The Photograph was released in the US on February 14, 2o20.