Plot: A black female Harlem resident battles with pregnancy, whilst trying to clear her husbands name of a crime he didn't commit.

When I first heard about this coming out, I instantly remember when I saw director Barry Jenkins' previous film that won Best Picture, Moonlight.


I remember being quite underwhelmed by it, which is always expected with the film that at the time of my viewing was an Oscar contender. I appreciated the craft, the performances were brilliant, but the story was just well made and never blew me away.


With it being another personal story from Jenkins, I was expecting more of the same. That is exactly what I got.


However, I found this to be a more intriguing watch. The look of it and some of the camerawork felt more experimental that peaked my interest. The story instantly had me and like Moonlight, there was some great performances. Stephan James and KiKi Layne were wonderful together. Their chemistry and relationship felt genuine, and it wouldn't if they were a couple in real life.
The build-up talk for the Oscars has involved Regina King as a heavy favourite for Best Supporting Actress. While I thought her performance was fine, there was nothing that shouted "awards winner" to me. I have to mention Ed Skrein who played a scary looking character that reminded me of Will Poulter in Detroit.


I thought this was an expertly crafted drama with a very well-told story with strong performances from everyone involved.
I'm still not going nuts for Jenkins' work as I don't feel like watching this or Moonlight ever again.
But this latest release made me appreciate his talent much more then his Best Picture winner.


There were many more impactful moments that made me remember this long after seeing it and felt more deserving of awards success. I hope Jenkins does something more off-piste to see what his range is rather than telling something that is more personal.


Rating: 8/10