A love letter to the the people and places of the New York borough for which it’s named, “Love, Brooklyn” is also a showcase for the talents of its three attractive lead actors. In this entry at Sundance’s US dramatic competition, Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise play upwardly mobile creative New Yorkers in a complicated love triangle. First-time filmmakers, director Rachael Abigail Holder and screenwriter Paul Zimmerman weave a low-key romantic odyssey that simmers with intimate heat while acting as a loving character study of the beloved, always evolving neighborhood.
Casey (Beharie) and Roger (Holland) used to be an item but are now just friends. Or are they? They seem to still carry a torch for each other and treasure the time they spend together. At the same time, Roger’s casual fling with grieving widow Nicole (Wise) takes a turn for the serious when her young daughter Ally (Cadence Reese) starts looking up to him as a father figure. These characters are also defined as professionals who cannot lead these lives anywhere else but Brooklyn. Roger is a journalist commissioned to write a long essay about how this part of New York City has matured, especially for its Black inhabitants, while Casey owns an art gallery that’s being engulfed by gentrification.
Zimmerman’s script is concerned with both the micro of the characters’ interrelationships and the macro of the economic and social changes happening where they live. It’s keenly observational about modern dating for 30- and 40-somethings: How to start and when to end a relationship, how to date when one has a child. Holder frames the actors with gentle sensitivity, capturing tiny flickers of emotion as they grapple with these issues.
Above all, the film acknowledges what Brooklyn means to its people, reflecting a specific culture and rhythm of life. The filmmakers understand the type of people who live there: how they talk, what they do and where they work. They even poke fun at the differences between its denizens and those who populate its sister island Manhattan and west-coast cousin, Los Angeles — a dichotomy of cool and relaxed versus slightly uptight and pretentious. Holder peppers the frame with visually dynamic work by local artists and the soundtrack with songs from local musicians, adding to the credibility of this portrayal.
“Love, Brooklyn” best illustrates its characters in a few distinctive scenes that tell the story of one day in a metropolis that many people surely have experienced. When you makes plans with some people you like, then wind up running into others you’re trying to avoid. When small crises and regrets happen because of dumb words said at the wrong time. When alcohol brings up emotions and truths that should have been kept hidden. Feelings are hurt, relationships are reassessed and the day ends with both genuine revelations and heavy laments.
Holland has palpable chemistry with Beharie. The way Roger and Casey banter with playfulness makes it obvious there are lingering feelings between them. The two actors are so comfortable around each other that the audience roots for this relationship to flourish, despite the screenplay making it clear they are not right for each other. It’s great to see Holland flex his romantic heartthrob credentials, something he hasn’t done since “Moonlight” and should do more. As the mercurial and confident Casey, Beharie gets the first showcase of her captivating big-screen presence since her last Sundance hit, 2020’s “Miss Juneteenth.” Wise is relaxed and easygoing playing a caring mother and an alluring lover while hinting tenderly at Nicole’s inner turmoil. All three are superb and make the love triangle feel both authentic and appealing.
When the film’s focus is on this trio, it soars. However, the other characters, which are supposed to represent the varied tapestry of Brooklyn, don’t come out as well-drawn. Only Cassandra Freeman, who plays a poseur art collector who never stops talking about herself, manages to wring satirical laughs. Additionally, crowd scenes, whether outside in parks and streets, or inside at parties are unnaturally sparsely populated. Perhaps it’s a budget issue, but unfortunately, it rings false to the representation of what’s supposed to be a bustling part of a big city.
“Love, Brooklyn” seems timid about what it should say about gentrification and how it’s affecting people who always lived there. Despite many conversations and different opinions from the characters, the film never lands on any definitive answers. While usually just asking the right questions works, here this uncertainty affects the overall impression which should have been a grand paean to this place, its people and why it endures.
There’s no doubt that Holder and Zimmerman know Brooklyn well and have much affection for it. They are also lucky to have found these three actors who are able to conjure so much emotion with ease and in the process make the romantic narrative beguilingly tangible. For these reasons, “Love, Brooklyn” deserves to be seen beyond the mountains of Utah.
