It’s great living in a world where a director like Oscar winner Barry Jenkins has the ability and freedom to make any movie he damn well wishes to make. After all, the man is visually gifted, especially in his talent for immaculately conceived close-ups. However, I can’t say the substance in “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “Moonlight” warranted all those over-the-top raves from critics. There was something lacking in the rather simple ‘Beale’ story and ‘Moonlight,’ despite an absolutely enveloping first two acts kind of fell apart for me in its last third. Alas, I am still very much anticipating Jenkins’ fourth film [via Deadline] which will have him team up with Fox Searchlight for an as-of-yet untitled film based on the life of choreographer Alvin Ailey.
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