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The Last Black Man in San Francisco

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The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoe Talbot
Screenplay by
  • Joe Talbot
  • Rob Richert
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAdam Newport-Berra
Edited byDavid Marks
Music byEmile Mosseri
Distributed byA24
Release dates
  • January 26, 2019 (2019-01-26) (Sundance)
  • June 7, 2019 (2019-06-07) (United States)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$4.5 million[2]

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a 2019 American drama film directed and produced by Joe Talbot (his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Talbot and Richert and a story by Jimmie Fails and Talbot (the latter of which, in turn, is partly based on Fails' own life[3]). It stars Fails, Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps and Finn Wittrock. The plot centers on the efforts of an African-American man, Jimmie, to reclaim his childhood home, a Victorian house in the Fillmore District.[3]

It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019, where it won awards for Best Directing and a Special Jury Prize for Creative Collaboration.[4] It was released on June 7, 2019, by A24 in the United States.

Plot

Jimmie Fails is a young man living in Bayview-Hunters Point, San Francisco. He spends his time wandering around town with his best friend Montgomery "Mont" Allen, who he also lives with, along with Mont's grandfather. Jimmie waits for the bus with Mont every day, during which they see various states of change in the city and protesters trying to stop it. The two then ride to a classic Victorian house in the city's Fillmore District that Jimmie grew up in and says was built by his grandfather in 1946. The home is currently occupied by an older couple, and Jimmie often laments to Mont about how the couple doesn't take care of the house while doing his best to remodel it himself. One day, Jimmie and Mont visit the house only to find the woman crying on her husband's shoulder and movers taking the couple's things.

Jimmie and Mont go to a local realtor, who informs them that the woman's mother had died and now she and her sister are fighting over the house. They use this opportunity to visit the now vacant house and be free to finally re-explore the house in its entirety. Deciding to take up residence, the pair visit Jimmie's aunt Wanda, who gives them the interior decorations that they had when living there. Jimmie and Mont ride back to the home with the help of Wanda's husband, Ricky, and unpack the items, displaying them throughout the house.

One night, Mont invites Kofi, a childhood friend of Jimmie's and his, to the house, and the three enjoy a night of relaxation. However, the next day, Kofi says hurtful things to Jimmie about his father to appear dominant after being called "feminine" by his friends. Jimmie and Mont later find out from Kofi's friends that he has been killed by a man he had a scuffle with. At the same time, the pair find that their possessions have been thrown out of the house and left on the sidewalk, in addition to a sign posted by the realtor they went to earlier. Feeling betrayed, Jimmie fights back by putting all of it right back in. Mont, however, goes to the realtor, who reveals that the house wasn't built by Jimmie's grandfather, and has the deed to prove that it was actually built in the 1850s.

Mont writes a play about the aftermath of Kofi's death and encourages Jimmie to advertise it to passerby, holding it in the "witch hat" of the house. On the day of the performance, Jimmie's estranged father, who he had previously gotten into an argument with, shows. During the performance, Mont shows various social media posts about Kofi's death, all of which he proclaims show that these people never really knew Kofi. He asks various people in the crowd to recount their opinions on Kofi, including Jimmie, who says that even though the last thing that Kofi ever said to him was mean, his experience with him in a group home was friendly, saying that "people aren't one thing". Mont reveals to Jimmie that his grandfather didn't build the home, leaving him shocked.

Jimmie reunites with Mont at the dock before going home. He watches TV with Mont and Grandpa Allen before going to bed. Mont wakes up and finds Jimmie gone, with a note that thanks Mont for being his best friend. Mont is left alone, shown in various daily activities that the two used to share happily now lifeless. He watches from the dock, where Jimmie is far away, rowing in the water outside the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cast

Production

Talbot and Fails grew up together in San Francisco and first discussed the possibility of making the movie as teenagers.[5] In May of 2015, the two shot a preview trailer to raise funds for the making of the film and launched a successful Kickstarter campaign that ultimately surpassed their goal of $50,000 by more than $25,000. [6] Within a month, 1,500 contributors backed the campaign totaling a little over $75,000. [7] The campaign garnered film industry interest as well as national press, and through viral success cemented Fails, who was the face of the #lastblackman fundraising campaign, as a local San Francisco figure. [6] In May 2018, it was announced Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock and Thora Birch had joined the cast of the film, with Khaliah Neal producing the film. Plan B Entertainment produced the film, while A24 distributed it.[8][9]

Principal photography began in April 2018.[10]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2019.[11] It released in the United States on June 7, 2019,[12] having previously been scheduled to be released on June 14.[13]

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 8.35/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "An affecting story powerfully told, The Last Black Man in San Francisco immediately establishes director Joe Talbot as a filmmaker to watch."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

In her New York Times review, Manohla Dargis made the film a NYT Critics Pick and called it "ravishing, haunting and exultant."[16] The Los Angeles Times's Justin Chang called the film "a gorgeous, moving ode to a city in flux."[17] The Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy said it was "by far the best narrative film I saw [at Sundance]...Every scene is fresh and unpredictable, visual poetry and realism are exquisitely woven together."[18] Rolling Stone called it "the best movie of the year" as of June 2019,[19] and Deadline Hollywood's awards columnist Pete Hammond said that it was "the one movie I have seen that should have Oscar written all over it" as of July.[20]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref(s)
Sundance Film Festival February 2, 2019 U.S. Dramatic Directing Award Joe Talbot Won [21]
Special Jury Award – Creator Collaboration Joe Talbot Won
U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Joe Talbot Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Last Black Man in San Francisco". Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Last Black Man in San Francisco". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Ehrlich, David; Ehrlich, David (2019-01-27). "'The Last Black Man in San Francisco' Review: Joe Talbot's Bittersweet, Unforgettable Debut — Sundance". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  4. ^ Sharf, Zack; Sharf, Zack (2019-03-21). "'The Last Black Man in San Francisco' Trailer: A24's Sundance Winner Is a Must-See Summer Indie". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  5. ^ "Meet The Misfits Behind 'The Last Black Man In San Francisco'". Hoodline. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
  6. ^ a b "Childhood friends create "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" - SFChronicle.com". www.sfchronicle.com. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  7. ^ Rizov, Vadim. "Jimmie Fails + Joe Talbot". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  8. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (May 2, 2018). "A24, Plan B Team On 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco' With Jonathan Majors & Jimmie Fails Starring". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Kit, Borys (May 2, 2018). "Plan B, A24 Team for Drama 'Last Black Man in San Francisco'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Filming in April: Joe Talbot to Direct Upcoming Feature Film 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco'". Production List. April 19, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  11. ^ Debruge, Peter (November 28, 2018). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils 2019 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "Where'd You Go Bernadette". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Erbland, Kate (February 21, 2019). "A24 Seeks Summer Box Office with Release Dates for 'The Farewell' and 'Last Black Man'". IndieWire. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  14. ^ "The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  15. ^ "The Last Black Man in San Francisco reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  16. ^ "'The Last Black Man in San Francisco' Review: Lost in a Dream City - The New York Times". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  17. ^ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-last-black-man-in-san-francisco-review-20190604-story.html
  18. ^ "Critics' Debate: What Is a "Sundance Movie"? 2019 Edition Broadens the Picture". Hollywood Reporter. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  19. ^ Fear, David (2019-06-12). "Coming Home: The Story Behind 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco' – Rolling Stone". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  20. ^ Pete Hammond (2019-07-03). "Does 'Toy Story 4', 'Avengers: Endgame', Or ANYTHING Else From 2019's First 6 Months Have A Shot At The Best Picture Oscar? – Deadline". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  21. ^ Debruge, Peter (February 2, 2019). "Sundance Winners: 'Clemency,' 'One Child Nation' Take Top Honors". Variety. Retrieved February 3, 2019.

Further reading

External links

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