Film Preview: If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Page Revisions:

(August 5, 2018) Original
(September 23, 2018) New Trailer (#2) / New Poster (#1)
(December 9, 2018) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#3)

Release Date:

November 30, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A woman in Harlem desperately scrambles to prove her fiancé innocent of a crime while carrying their first child.”

Poster Rating: C / B / C

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Review: (#1) The colors on this poster may not be terribly common in poster designs, but having such a weak central image doesn’t make the film look enticing.

(#2) Beale Street as seen through the eyes of its protagonists. This is a strong visual metaphor, though the dead space of the rest of the design isn’t as interesting. (#3) This French poster isn’t very exciting or interesting.

Trailer Rating: B+ / B / C+

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Review: (#1) This slow-burn trailer doesn’t worry about whether the audience will follow its lingering progression because you’re captivated almost from the beginning, not just from wanting to know what the film is all about, but also to see where the trailer itself is going, even if it isn’t going very far.

(#2) There isn’t much one could add to the prior trailer to make the film look more compelling. If anything, the added detail here have made it slightly less interesting.

(#3) The choice of music this time around is clunky and poorly edited into the proceedings, making the familiar narrative elements feel overbearing.