Medicine for Melancholy (2008)
Medicine for Melancholy(USA) Directed Barry Jenkins Written by Barry Jenkins Starring Wyatt Cecec; Tracey Heggins
Barry Jenkins’ debut film is being classified as an addition to the Mumblecore movement. The difference here is that the director and his two lead actors are African American, and while the film is focused on their budding relationship, it also examines wider questions of race, identity, class, urban development, and gentrification. Wyatt Cenac is Micah, and Tracey Heggins, Jo, two young San Francisco residents who awake next to one another in the morning in a strange bed, having drunkenly hooked up at a party. They are embarrassed and nearly silent at first, but as the next twenty four hours unfold we learn more about each of their individual lives. The film was shot on HD with film lenses and the color in most places was de-saturated to the point of being closer to black and white. It’s essentially a two-hander with the camera rarely moving away from the appealing leads. There are a few rough moments, including a short didactic scene taking place at a community meeting that should have been eliminated in the editing room, and the leads too are occasionally given extended speeches as Jenkins is clearly committed to getting his ideas across. Still, there is an emotional truth achieved here that most films can only dream of. Those demanding Hollywood slickness might be turned off, but this is a sincere effort to create art. Visually, there is a verite’ feel as the camera follows the action, mirroring the free flowing, largely plot-less story. Very similar to the handheld style of Aaron Katz’s Quiet City, another low tech indie about a new couple getting to know another over the course of a single day. The film might, at times, be halting and awkward, but only in the way that life itself often is