If Beale Street Could Talk

"Director Barry Jenkins' follow-up to the critically acclaimed Moonlight is a beautiful drama full of rich and interesting performances."

"A stirring, compassionate, beautiful experience."

"A work of social realism elevated to poetic heights by the sheer beauty of its voice and the humanism of its spirit..."

"The strength of KiKi Layne's performance is in how wonderfully it toes the line between youth and wisdom, helplessness and self-determination."

"If Beale Street Could Talk becomes a chronicle of crushed innocence and systemic injustice, but also a poetic paean to the healing power of love."

"It's a film with love at its root, both familial and romantic, and Jenkins fills so much of it with a radiating warmth."

"Strip away the stylistic flourishes and the result is a familial and political drama that's dramatically the equal of Lee Daniel's Precious or Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit."

"Are you in the mood for love yet? Jenkins' movie will put you there."

"If the movie's slow burn seems to build toward a powerful release that doesn't materialise, the sheer beauty of its craft and the heartfelt feeling behind every scene nonetheless command attention."

"You can see the broad outline of what Jenkins wanted to accomplish with If Beale Street Could Talk, but the inside is hollow."