Loved this one

I was nervous about watching Amazon’s heavily-touted new film, Sylvie’s Love. Looked kinda like people trying to win Oscars and a musical version of The Help. I figured it would be patronizing and shallow and full of cliches.

Yup, it is. And somehow it’s still fantastic.

Forget Soul, forget Wonder Woman 1984, Sylvie’s Love is the movie you want to watch this holiday season.

Usually billed as a Black Mad Men, it’s actually more of a Black Diner, a subject that’s about 40 years overdue. Add to this premise an awesome soundtrack of jazz and “good” R&B, like if you shifted the songs from American Graffiti back 5-10 years but kept the quality constant.

There really are only three aspects to any movie: the picture, the sound, and the story. Sylvie’s Love, like Mad Men I suppose, is just visually appealing, there’s no other way to say it, and the sound is pure artistry, whether taken from old 45s or music composed new for the film. The story is a bit cliched, yes, but not, as I’d feared, in a patronizing Black way. That the main characters are Black actually has little to do with with the plot, and damn that’s refreshing. The story is boy-meets-girl. So are 99% of all movies.

Do yourself a favor and watch Sylvie’s Love. I probably will again before Winter Break is out. In the mean time I’ll be dusting off some old LPs and suiting up for old times’ sake.

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About moc

My name is Mike O'Connell. I am 41 years old and live in Northern Virginia. I am a teacher, a musician, and an enthusiast of all things American.

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