In Rachael Holder’s confident and sexy debut feature, “Love, Brooklyn,” non-committal writer Roger (André Holland, “Moonlight”) finds himself entering middle age and caught between two women: his ex Casey (Nicole Beharie, “The Morning Show”), an art gallery owner determined to protect her business from gentrification; and his new love interest Nicole (DeWanda Wise, “Fatherhood”), a masseuse dealing with the challenges of being a single mom and a widow.
With humor, charm, and an electric chemistry between her leads, Holder captures the same dynamic energy of 1997’s “Love Jones” to paint an intimate portrait of modern romance.
“What you up to?” is the same as “you up,” as Nicole calls Roger one night after her daughter has gone to bed. She’s calling him for a hook-up; the type enjoyed by friends with benefits.
Roger has just finished a dinner date with Casey, a friend that he is happy to just be platonic friends with for now.
Essentially, Roger is enjoying the best of both worlds, as he maintains his bachelorhood—he has a guaranteed date for meals, to art museums and cultural events with Casey—while getting his physical needs met during late-night meetings at Nicole’s home.
But in this one instance, Nicole’s daughter, Ally, bursts into the bedroom. And this surprise meeting only whets Ally’s appetite to later ask about this man and why he only comes when her mother is in bed.
So goes the life of three people who think they know what they want in personal relationships, which are on the surface harmless. But at some point, their lives are indirectly involved, and Roger needs to make a decision.
This is a great film that showcases the beautiful brownstones of Brooklyn, because Roger travels solely by bicycle. When he’s not dating both women, he’s chatting at an actual local coffee shop with his buddy Alan (Roy Wood, Jr., “The Daily Show”).
Alan, while he provides comic relief, is not much help with Roger’s swinging back and forth between two women; he praises his buddy for having these relationships. Realistically, Alan fantasizes about cheating on his wife.
I have always adored Holland in films, but in this one he plays a womanizer, and I wasn’t too pleased. But this means that his acting was perfect. Although his travels through Brooklyn show positive aspects of that borough, his manner isn’t too positive. He behaves in an arrogant and selfish way by courting both women—although he probably wouldn’t believe that he was hurting Casey.
But his handsome face and affable demeanor makes it easy for him to straddle the fence between the two independent women.
He has been commissioned to write a magazine piece, and he is just as stumped with finalizing that story as he is with making a final decision about his romantic relationships.
After much soul searching and near misses of having the three parties in the same room at the same time, Casey realizes that a rekindling with Roger isn’t possible. Or is it Roger who realizes that his love and allegiance is with Nicole? In either case, adults start to behave like adults driven by love and commitment and not by superficial feelings.
“Love, Brooklyn” was a recent Sundance Film Festival premiere. It begins screening on September 5 in Chicago at Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St. For info, visit siskelfilmcenter.org.