The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

Film: The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Stars: Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Danny Glover, Tichina Arnold, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock
Director: Joe Talbot
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 5/5 stars

I don't really have an excuse for not having seen The Last Black Man in San Francisco in theaters.  I initially thought it was a documentary, and I was kind of documentaried-out the week that it came out, and by the time I realized it was a narrative film (and was winning raves) it had quickly adiosed from my local theaters.  This is a pity, as I can imagine this was something special on the big screen, the gorgeous house at the center of the film coming to life amid a group of silent, watching faces.  At home, though, I'll state I still found it enthralling.  Last Black Man is not the sort of movie I was expecting, but instead a hopeful film, one aided by a gorgeous score and a stupendous central acting duet.  It's also about what we give up to become ourselves, and might be the most thoughtful film I've seen so far in 2019.

(Spoilers Ahead) The movie centers on Jimmie (Fails, in something of a semi-autobiographical role), a man who has had a hard life, at points living in a group home or in a car, who daydreams about moving back to the gorgeous Victorian house that he grew up in, and that his grandfather built.  He, along with his friend Mont (Majors) will sneak past the gate of the house and perform maintenance & fix the property, much to the annoyed chagrin of the current owners.  When the owners are forced out of the house as well (San Francisco real estate, y'all), Jimmie and Mont decide that they are done play-acting and move into the empty home, getting to see what life would be like if they could simply go back to this magical old home.  As reality sets in, we see cracks in their relationship, and in the world around them, and they come to a precipice, particularly Jimmie-does he stay in a city that keeps rejecting him, or does he move on, leaving behind his childhood dreams about this house?

The film sounds conventional in that description, but that's not how it's laid out.  The opening five minutes involve an almost operatic skateboard through the city, with Jimmie & Mont, clearly friends of the closest nature (neither men once mention having sex with a woman among themselves, and one wonders if there is some sort of romantic component to their friendship even if they don't say it out loud...or I might have just been reading into things), on the same skateboard & the camera focused on onlookers, the current faces of a changing city.  The music is a major character in the film, as is the house, with its ornate ceilings and gorgeous side library (if you don't leave enamored with this house, I don't really know how to deal with you).  The film is lensed with precision, so much care given to each frame and sequence, that you know you're in the presence of a future auteur with Joe Talbot.

Honestly-even as the film hits more familiar beats (it's clear that eventually we're going to learn that Jimmie's connection to this house isn't as concrete as he assumes), the creativity of the delivery keeps the film from going down the usual trails.  The film's ending, with Jimmie abandoning Mont, and Mont left to wonder what his life will be without his soulmate, is crushing, but also real-we know that Jimmie needs to leave all of this behind in order to turn into the man he's meant to become, and that includes leaving behind his two great loves, Mont and the house.  The performances are tender & heartfelt, with both Fails and Majors finding a rich back story for their introverted characters, and I left understanding the damaging effects of gentrification in a way that I don't think a thousand New York Times articles could have ever imparted.  Last Black Man in San Francisco is a profound look at love, home, and place, the ways that we connect with the world around us even as it's leaving us (or we're leaving it), and I am in awe of its seamless architecture and grace.