The titular comma in Rachael Holder’s promising feature debut is not merely grammatical. “Love, Brooklyn” is dedicated to multiple passions — though by the end of this soulful indie romance, it’s clear where her heart truly lies.
Like many a Brooklynite, Roger (André Holland, “Moonlight”) spends much of his time biking from one part of the borough to another. Usually, he’s bouncing between a tricky situation with his ex-girlfriend Casey (standout Nicole Beharie, “The Morning Show”) and a complicated situationship with his new crush Nicole (DeWanda Wise, “Three Women”).
When they’re not fighting or flirting, Roger writes stories about his ever-changing city, Casey tries to save her art gallery from developers, and single mom Nicole studies to be a massage therapist. Casey isn’t quite ready to let go of Roger, largely because she’s afraid of being alone. Roger is interested in dating Nicole more seriously, but she’s both skeptical of Casey’s ongoing presence and concerned about protecting her young daughter Ally (Cadence Reese).
Though all the actors are wonderful individually, there’s never much spark between them. This may be a matter of casting, or it could be the result of a lackluster screenplay. But the vacuum left by an underdeveloped plot is filled in multiple ways, each of which suggests that Holder is a talent worth watching.
She’s updated Paul Zimmerman’s rather generic script by turning it into a tribute to Black life and art in Brooklyn, and the detailed specificity around which she builds every scene adds essential depth. Cinematographer Martim Vian was clearly tasked with translating Holder’s affection for the city, and Brooklyn has never looked lovelier. The light is equally striking whether Roger is biking down empty streets lined with stately brownstones, or ambling through a painterly Prospect Park to the inviting sound of Joel West’s classically-inspired score.
Real estate is, of course, a New York obsession, and production designer Lili Teplan got the memo, too. Nicole’s townhouse is a splendor of 19th century moldings and burnished wood. Conversations happen on cozy stoops aglow in summer’s-eve haze. Hipster bars are warm with candles, and Roger returns home to exposed brick walls that most locals would kill for.
In their low-key vacillations and hesitations, the romances themselves feel ordinary enough to be real. But in classic cinematic tradition, the backdrops are designed to fulfill a fantasy. There’s a reason Roger wants to write about the borough’s devolution, and a reason why he won’t; Holder addresses both with tender insight.
So if you already live in Brooklyn, you’ll watch her lush love letter and nod along with a New Yorker’s instinctual combination of rueful pride. And if you don’t, you should probably know her secret: it’s not always this breathtakingly beautiful. But sometimes — say, when you’re biking from Brooklyn Heights to Fort Greene just to see someone special — it comes so close, it could break your heart.
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