Title: “The Photograph”

Release date: Feb. 14, 2020

Starring: Issa Rae, LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Rob Morgan, Courtney B. Vance, Chante Adams, Y’lan Noel, Chelsea Peretti, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jasmine Cephas Jones

Directed by: Stella Meghie

Run time: 1 hour, 46 minutes

Rated: PG-13

What it’s about: The estranged adult daughter of a famous photographer falls in love with a magazine journalist assigned to write a story about the late woman.

How I saw it: “The Photograph” is, in a word, gorgeous. The romantic drama (with touches of comedy) is never far from a beautifully filmed and lighted scene. Its color palette is so pleasing that even the deep blues, which are prominent throughout, seem warm. A scene in which the two main characters walk along an empty New York street after a storm glistens. The music is gorgeous, a mix of Robert Glasper’s cool, comfortable jazz score and newer and old-school R&B (when making a romantic film, you can’t go wrong with the Rev. Al Green). And the lead actors, the versatile LaKeith Stanfield and Issa Rae, are gorgeous, even as they navigate a blossoming relationship after having struggled to find long-term love.

“The Photograph,” written and directed by Stella Meghie, is not a film of great substance, but a romance need not be. It’s engaging (especially the performances not only from the leads but supporting cast) but not terribly thrilling, but it isn’t asked to be; it’s more a film of comfortability than excitability. The chemistry between Stanfield (as magazine journalist Michael Block) and Rae (as art museum curator Mae Morton) smolders but never explodes because both characters are understandably apprehensive.

What “The Photograph” does better than most of these types of films is explore love outside the realm of romance. Meghie, who has made three previous features that garnered positive reviews but went largely unnoticed by the moviegoing public, infuses the story of Michael and Mae with insightful takes on generational love, brotherly love and unspoken love. That’s where the film’s strength lies.

Michael and Mae cross paths when he is assigned to do a story on late photographer Christina Eames (Chante Adams). Michael visits a man (Rob Morgan as Isaac Jefferson) in the New Orleans area who had a relationship with Eames in the 1980s. Eames left him without warning to pursue a better life in New York, and the two had spoken just once since. Michael then tracks down Eames’ daughter, Mae, in Queens, and he immediately pursues her despite being on the rebound; he has had a string of short-term relationships and one-off dates.

Mae is more hesitant, and the story of Eames also is the story of why Mae is reluctant about romance. “The Photograph” smoothly bounces between the present and 1980s Louisiana, painting a picture of a complicated woman who (on the surface) seemed incapable of holding together any type of relationship, including with her own daughter. Meghie includes a bit of a twist in the Mae/Eames backstory, and the present-day love story gets its complication from Michael considering a job that would take him out of the country. He also has a tendency to fall back on old habits, including not answering his phone when a significant other calls, and eventually we learn that Mae is doing what many do when seeking a relationship – she is dating a man who is much like her mother, subconsciously seeking out someone who might give her a chance to make peace with the broken one with her mother.

“The Photograph” veers toward the predictable as it travels toward its romantic ending, but it’s a beautiful ride. Note-perfect performances abound, with Morgan especially strong as Jefferson (as is Y’lan Noel as the younger Jefferson in the flashbacks); Lil Rel Howery providing the right touch of comic relief as Michael’s married-with-children brother; and Kelvin Harrison Jr. adding moments of sweetness as Michael’s young co-worker and admirer. The strongest performance of all, though, belongs to Adams; her Christina Eames is a young woman trying to find her way in the world while also dealing with her seemingly cold mother. A scene in which she is being interviewed for a job shortly after arriving in New York is priceless as Eames shows she is more than just someone who stepped off a bus in the big city.

“The Photograph” has fared well at the box office, taking advantage of a Valentine’s Day release to the tune of $13 million plus, and it almost certainly will surpass its $16 million budget. It’s not earth-shattering stuff that addresses any great social issue (the discrimination blacks have faced is mentioned in passing only a couple of times). But it has much to say about love and relationships, and its message is delivered beautifully.

My score: 80 out of 100

Should you see it? The film’s beauty deserves to be seen (and heard) in a theater setting, but “The Photograph” also would make for an enjoyable stay-at-home date night.