The Last Black Man in San Francisco Movie Review

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)

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Written by: Joe Talbot and Jimmie Fails (story by),  Joe Talbot and Rob Richert (written by)
Directed by: Joe Talbot
Starring: Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan
Rated: R
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Plot
A young man searches for home in the changing city that seems to have left him behind.

Verdict
This is very much an indie movie that is more about the feeling evoked than the story itself. It's often surreal, beyond a typical movie. The story is quite simple, but has a lot of depth. The directing is really good. So many movies would not be able to pull off the moments this movie does. It's difficult to make a movie like this good, but this movie excels. I marveled at how this movie managed to succeed while noting all the hurdles that would stop so many movies.
Watch it.

Review
From the start this movie is intriguing. Men in containment suits are picking up trash as a young girl walks by without a suit. Two men watch, wondering, before riding to San Francisco tandem on a skateboard.

I wasn't what this movie was going to be, but it definitely isn't ordinary. Jimmie and Mont on the skateboard is a scene most movies wouldn't even include. Everything about this movie is one step into strange, and that gives it a very unique vibe. It's a merit to the movie that it can be strange and succeed at it.

Jimmie Fails plays Jimmie.

Jimmie is easy to like. He's passionate about repairing a house that his grandfather built despite the fact that neither he nor his family still own it. I wondered if there was more to this house than just being his grandfathers.
The movie is more than the house. It's a look at people. The house is something for Jimmie to believe in. It's a connection to his broken family while mainly being something to channel his passions. He has a purpose because of this house.

Jonathan Majors & Jimmie Fails play Mont & Jimmie.

Jimmie's friend Mont puts on a play later in the movie. In any other movie it would be comical or over the top, but in this movie it's incredibly powerful. That's a credit to the writer, director, and actors. It's an amazing scene that would fail in so many other instances. The directing is phenomenal. Every scene grabs you and it would be easy to make this movie boring. This is anything but.

I don't know how to describe this movie other than beyond. It's beyond what a normal movie is and does while completely bringing to life emotions of longing, hope, sadness, and confidence.

It's impressive, but impressive for indie fans as this is definitely not a typical movie.