Medicine for Melancholy

(Credit: Handout)

This meandering portrait of personal relationships and race relations in San Francisco is well acted by its two leads (Wyatt Cenac and Tracey Heggins) and is beautifully shot in a muted palette.

The film opens after a drunken one-night stand—awkward much?—and follows Micah and Jo' as they spend the weekend getting to know each other. Their interactions come off as genuine and convey a sweetness that will have you rooting for them to make it as a couple. But this film is no Hollywood blockbuster.

Niggling topics like identity and race get in the way. And, in the film's one forced scene, the movie practically comes to a halt to deliver a diatribe on San Fran's elitist housing situation.

Despite this, writer/director Barry Jenkins delivers an identifiable slice of life. Who among us hasn't thought or hoped, "What if..." in regards to a chance encounter?

Catch it: You'll feel better about last weekend's drunken tryst.

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