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It isn’t easy falling in love—trying to understand our own feelings, never sure how much to say, wondering if the other person feels the same. And in The Photograph, two different couples—one in the present, one from the past—struggle to be open and honest and to build strong, lasting relationships.
The Photograph follows two love stories. Reporter Michael (LaKeith Stanfield) is following a story in Louisiana when he meets Isaac (Rob Morgan), a fisherman who tells him about Christina (Chanté Adams), the beautiful photographer who left him decades ago for a new life in New York. Intrigued by the story, Michael searches for Christina when he returns to New York and discovers that she’s recently died, leaving behind her daughter, Mae (Issa Rae). And as Michael and Mae fall in love, Mae reads about her mother’s own love story in the pages of a letter that she left behind.
In these two love stories—one ill-fated, one facing similar challenges—the film explores the delight, the insecurities, and the regrets that each person experiences. Christina looks back with pain and regret, lamenting the fact that she spent her life struggling with relationships, never able to make them work. Isaac regrets not going after her. Michael worries about saying the right thing at the right time. And Mae fears that she could end up just like her mom—just walking away instead of fighting for what she feels in her heart.
The story plays out slowly and often quietly, with an appropriately jazzy score that seems to emphasize the loose and somewhat random style of the storytelling. It jumps from one story to the other, connecting the two love stories and the four characters by their challenges and their mistakes, showing the timelessness of the issues that these relationships face.
Unfortunately, though, the characters make the film feel more awkward than expected. Stanfield comes off as extremely self-conscious—and his stalker vibe makes him less than appealing. Rae feels incredibly uncomfortable in her role, her smile never really reaching her eyes. And the characters’ chemistry just isn’t there, making their love story feel anything but natural and easy-going.
Though it offers a generally likable cast along with a lesson or two in fighting for love, The Photograph will be too slow, too meandering, too awkward for many viewers. So you might want to take some advice from Michael’s sister-in-law and choose to steam a movie for your Valentine’s viewing instead.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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