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The Last Black Man in San Francisco Movie Review

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a 2019 indie drama film directed by Joe Talbot and starring Jimmy Fails and Jonathan Majors. It’s such a wonderful film.

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“You don’t get to hate it unless you love it“

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Jimmie and his best friend Mont try to reclaim the house built by Jimmie’s grandfather, launching them on a journey that connects them to their past, even as it tests their friendship and sense of belonging in the place they call home. This is a very important movie about repossession and gentrification, even more valuable having in mind that this issue is so rarely explored by Hollywood.

This is a very quiet, calm, ruminating experience that is still immensely cinematic in approach, but more on that later. What I found most interesting here is its very honest depiction of the gentrification process, and how that affects people. The film let the protagonist dream and be in denial, but it firmly grounded him in that devastating, but expected twist conclusion which was the most heartbreaking scene in the entire movie.

The film is of semi auto-biographical nature. Jimmie Fails himself went through this process, and that is why his performance is so solid, especially strong for a newcomer. But Jonathan Majors stole the show acting-wife as his work, especially in that final speech, is captivating and so powerful. The supporting players also did a good job, and I found the entire gang memorable and well developed.

But this is mostly a protagonist-emphasized film, and thankfully both are excellent how well realized and thoughtfully depicted they are. I found their friendship touching, and the best scenes in the film are consistently those between the two. Their interactions with the rest of the gang and others are all strong as they emphasize their inherently huge differences.

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The Last Black Man in San Francisco is one of the most purely cinematic movies of the year, and one of the most artistic. It looks and sounds amazing, and I was particularly enamored with its cinematography. The long takes and shots of that great house are amazing as are the moving shots of the skateboard sequences which are instantly memorable, and those represent the type of urban movie magic that I adore.

And the house. Let’s talk about that house. Its 19^th century aesthetic, especially the many rich details, make it one truly unforgettable movie house. The way the film made this house seem extremely important emotionally speaking and to the overall narrative is commendable, and in particular the metaphor is fantastic as it stands for something more, something you dream about and could simply never obtain. The interiors are spectacular as is the exterior of it, and how we get to see everything and explore it properly is wonderful and it made the movie both adventurous and mysterious in a way.

The score itself is also terrific. It’s at times moving, at times melancholic, thus perfectly accompanying its very wistful atmosphere of longing and sadness. The direction from Joe Talbot is truly phenomenal and I hope to see more from this terrific new director who’s got style and confidence to spare.

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The pacing could have been better as some of the second act is a bit prolonged, and the whole film could have been shorter. But it’s mostly an incredibly involving watch that is emotionally incredibly potent, and downright heartbreaking at the end. It represents indie filmmaking at its finest, and it truly is one of the greatest films of this year.

Never has there been a more wistful movie than The Last Black Man in San Francisco. This indie drama is a very melancholic, poignant watch that becomes truly heartbreaking in its third act as it deals so honestly and powerfully with the issues of gentrification, repossession and pensive longing for the past. The acting and direction are both stellar while the score is terrific and the cinematography is particularly competent at capturing the film’s almost magical, cinematic moments and the full opulence of the house itself that acts as a touching metaphor for something lost and unobtainable.

My Rating – 4