‘Love, Brooklyn’ is a refreshing glimpse into Black people just living.

Three things I love to support:

1. People I know (I went to school with Nicole)
2. Black art (Black cast, Black director)
3. Independent film (They had so much trouble financing that Stephen Soderbergh funded it himself, which is why he’s got a producer credit.)

In many ways, Love, Brooklyn reminds me of The Photograph which was another beautifully shot romantic drama about Black people just being people. I don’t need all of our movies to be about being Black or about some sort of struggle, but I also like when it feels as though I could know the characters. These aren’t rich people, but they aren’t scraping by either. They’re just working folk, like the majority of us. None of the characters are perfect, but none of them are flawed either. They’re just people, like the majority of us. There’s a lot to be said about going to the movies and just seeing yourself and that’s rare for just regular Black folks.

Also, I’m not a straight man, but in my experience, movies like this rarely center the man, and when they do, he’s a terrible character. The lead in this film is just Some Guy, doing his best to navigate life and love and work. He’s not exceptional, he’s not a dog — he’s just some dude. I think it’s probably telling that it takes a female director to make a compelling film about Some Guy.

And that’s all I wish the movie was. There’s a separate idea about gentrification that isn’t fully fleshed out. I know what everyone is trying to say, but I either need more of it or none of it. I like the movie about Some Guy and his love life — I don’t need an intro and a coda about Brooklyn gentrification. If that’s the message, give me more of it, because there are a lot of missed opportunities throughout the film that would make it feel more integrated as opposed to “I need to say something important!” whereas a lot of us feel like a movie about Black people simply existing is important enough.

Regardless of that criticism and the story revolving around Some Guy, every woman in his orbit is so magnetic on screen. Nicole Beharie does not have a bad performance in her body and DeWanda Wise keeps giving Hollywood reasons to make her a star. Even with the small parts, the women come in and completely change the air from the down-to-earth married friend to the over-the-top art critic.

Love, Brooklyn isn’t going to change any lives, but movies don’t always have to. Sometimes it’s enough to just see life as it is.