My bestie Yolo and I decided to see the movie I Will Follow after hearing rave reviews from friends.
We were a bit taken aback because the movie was well… good!
There were queer characters not caricatures, complex family dynamics, and emotional tenderness. We liked it so much we made a video blog documenting our reations!
**Spoiler Alerts***
We’ll have the transcript up real soon.
We were so delighted with our impromptu review we tweeted it to the Film Maker Ava DuVernay and she actually watched it and had this to say:
“I enjoyed this wildly. @IWillFollowFilm video review by @quirkyblackgirl. “Thou shall not swing.” http://tinyurl.com/4pvlxxr @AVADVA
Though it may seem improbable that in a 14 minute clip there were a few things we forgot to mention, its true!
Two things that we wanted to add were that:
- Color(ism) matters- While generally the film had a cast of many colors, or hues of blackness, we did find it interesting that the characters with the most screen time were the lighter ones. No shade (pun intended) to the casting directors but complexion in film does a lot of implicit signaling and we thought it was something to think about.
- We loved the beautifully untied ending- We almost fell out of our chairs when the film did not end with the typical she-got-a-man-all-is-right-with-the-world ending! Her relationship with her husband remained unresolved; she didn’t run off to build a new life with Troy. We were left wondering but assured that life must go on, even in the face of uncertainty. It left us with the possibility that a black woman could be ok, and could carry on without the fictional security that “having a man” supposedly brings. Yolo said it was reminiscent of the final scenes in the Zora Neal Hurston classic Their Eyes Were Watching God
This month at the CFC we’ve been doing B sides to post from the last year. I’d like to offer this post as a “B” side to my For Colored Girls review as I think this film speaks to the amazing possibilities of black cinema just as Perry’s piece was illustrative of so many limitations.
I’m glad you brought this point up. On the colorism tip, if the movie focused on her immediate birth family, she may have come from a family where there is a “tradition” to keep it light(marry and/or have children with another light skinned person to increase the odds of having a light skinned child – this doesn’t always work. GOD/genetics has a great sense of humor).
The character of Maye could’ve been breaking that “tradition” by going with a dark skinned brother and on the other tip, Maye’s going with Troy intimates that her choice of lovers is not fetishized by color. She may, first and foremost, truly love the men for WHO they are; looks could be secondary or even tertiary.
Hey y’all
loved the video review!
Do you have any more information about the soundtrack?
I have not seen the film…but I am so impressed by the even critique of the film and as a result, will definitely get to a city where it is showing! 3 Thumbs up!!!
This was amazing! I love Yolo’s invitation to self-reflection at the end and Moya, your faces during that are great! I hope you all do a regular review of movies and tv. Friends on Films!
Stumbled on your review while looking for comments on the movie. Disclaimer I know the filmmaker, but I didnt see the the movie until the weekend and objectively loved it. On the audience reaction, I was a little saddened that the Queer characters elicited that kind of reaction at your viewing, they didnt at mine. I saw on the West side of LA and the audience was a real movie going crowd and was really into the movie (we all sat through the entire credits) , but no real reaction to the gay characters except really being drawn into their scenes. Funny biggest reaction in my theatre was gasps of recognition because one of the men is hugely popular in LA as the King of “eyebrows”, major successful entrepeneur with shops in NY and Beverly Hills. Totally appropriate she would know him since she was a make-up artist. When I was leaving I heard two women talking about how they loved his eyebrows, been to his shop, etc.. The only thing I noticed about the boy and the men was that he was really into their car (real typical young male stuff). I guess Maseratis trump. The only negative reaction was to a Tyler Perry Madea film trailer that ran before the film!