The Photograph

It's a beguiling combination at first, but the surrounding story is too clunky, the revelations too telegraphed.

Simply put, Michael and Mae don't get enough time to just be, though a sequel could fix that.

Luxuriantly sensual and unashamedly romantic, The Photograph is a cat's cradle of connecting love stories, spun across states, decades and continents.

It's hard to imagine even the most susceptible audiences caring whether this bland couple get it together.

What luck, then, that Stella Meghie's film returns to its stronger elements so often.

Revel... in the subtle back-and-forth of becoming smitten, the glances, touches, silences. Think of it as a dance movie, a good one.

The appealing leads spark with genuine onscreen chemistry, and Meghie capitalizes on a terrific supporting cast to vividly render past and present in complementary balance.

The Photograph is a gorgeous looking film about how life doesn’t always go as planned, love will endure even when relationships drift apart, and learning from a shared history doesn’t mean anything is set in stone.

There’s a throwback romantic quality in Meghie’s use of the gaze that calls back to Bogart and Bacall, Tracy and Hepburn, MacMurray and Stanwyck.

This movie, I think, is going to be appreciated by couples and... particularly black couples.