The depiction of “Realistic” Black Love.
by Tryphena Ayiba Duba
As beautiful as romance is as a genre nothing beats the newly romanticised genre in itself that is “black love”. Unfortunately, this is not always captured in a realistic form neither is it done correctly but this is a different occasion. Really love by Angel Kristi Williams is currently the exception in my books.
Trust a BLACK woman to give you cinematic, realistic excellence of what black love is or just what love is but in colour. The movie begins with the male lead, Kofi Siriboe who plays Isaiah meeting the female lead Yootha Wong-Loi Sing who plays Stevie at an art exhibition. The pair staring at a piece of art and engaging in a brief but effective conversation that subtly hints at their interest in each other. The scene gives a sense of normality, like an everyday meeting between a young man who sets his eye on a beautiful woman.
Faith then gives them a gift and they reunite again and this is where their love kicks off. One thing I loved about this film is how Nathan Parker who was the production designer captured the beauty that is the complexion of black people. Time and time again we see that black actors aren’t always captured in lighting that compliments their skin and really shows the beauty of it but Nathan did justice to this as it seemed seamless.
The realistic features of the film were what made it talk to my soul in the sense that it was relatable. The problems that they faced as a couple mirrored everyday problems we have in relationships. One thing to commend Williams on was her subtle message of the individuality of people in love, both characters had their own struggles and were faced with decisions they had to make which could better them as individuals.
Something I think most romance films fail to do is give characters realistic battles and problems to face. From the male lead being an aspiring painter to the female lead being an ambitious law student, both characters in this film try to balance their personal lives and ambitions whilst getting into a relationship that was both pleasing, intense and unexpected was the normality I needed and she delivered.
I adored the sensuality of the film, both actors gave us the chemistry we needed. The way they looked at each other and interacted with each other gave what needed to be given. The actors did justice in showing us love even without words in some instances. However I did think that there were some scenes where I would have enjoyed more dramatic acting, for example, the confrontation between the two main characters which I assume was supposed to be the climax of the movie and the other subtle scenes that introduced the personal aspect of their lives to us, would have needed a bit more “vim”. But I guess Ms Williams aimed for seamlessness and subtlety which wasn’t a bad decision.
This film beautifully gave us the normality of what love is without the thick romanticisation of the characters being black. I also give a ten to the production team for the soundtrack, each song gave meaning to the scenes it accompanied and that made watching this film soothing and for the end? Very unexpected, but welcoming.
Expecting me to say why? How about you watch the movie and experience it.
It’s worth it.
