It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes there are those movies where, after seeing them, you get the feeling that the real world is boring and gray. And then I am not even talking about the extremes of a Speed Racer or Alice in Wonderland, but simply about the way in which a filmmaker has been able to capture “normal life” in a beautiful way, with each shot looking like a piece of art. A moment that you could frame and hang on your wall.
If a director is able to do that with his first feature film, then you know that it is one that you should keep an eye on. Director Joe Talbot does this together with cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra. He grew up in San Francisco and was good friends with Jimmie Fails. Jimmie told a lot about his youth and how he grew up. It inspired Talbot and they decided to make shorts, which eventually became a Kickstarter and got interest from Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Enterntainment. Thanks to his help, Talbot was given access to a larger budget to film the story, which is partly based on the life of his friend, with Jimmie playing the leading role.
Jimmie Fails has been living in San Francisco all his life. A city that has changed enormously in recent years due to the tech boom in Silicon Valley. Housing prices have skyrocketed, making old houses priceless and, in addition, often being demolished to make way for an apartment complex that generates much more money. Jimmie is staying with his good friend Montgomery Allen (Jonathan Majors) and his grandfather (Danny Glover). Jimmie is obsessed with a beautiful house in the center of the city, in which he grew up. It is special to him. He visits and maintains the house regularly, much to the dismay of the current residents. In a city that is changing, he is looking for a home and the question is whether he is able to find it.
The Last Balack Man in San Francisco is a film that sounds very simple when you hear the story. However, if you look at it is so much more than just about a house. It is about experiences in Jimmie’s childhood, relationships that are no longer what they once were, the pursuit of something that may no longer be there, all in a city that is slowly losing its own character. It is a film where you can also give your opinion on certain events. For example, there is a moment when a few men, who are always hanging out in front of Montgomery’s grandfather’s house, get into a fight and Montgomery walks over to them and complements them about how they play their roles. It is a small moment, but it appealed to me. These men are tough when they are together in a group and may not dare to express the underlying feelings and may indeed be playing a role.
Talbot is able to generate a very strong feeling with the images and the relatively silent Jimmie shows a lot of feelings in his expressions. This film perfectly shows the magic of ordinary life and dreaming about the possibilities and captures beautiful imagery that you will treasure.
[score9]