For a San Francisco Native, There’s No Place Like Home

Jonathan Majors (left) and Jimmie Fails in
"The Last Black Man in San Francisco"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

The opening scene of director Joe Talbot’s drama, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” has a sidewalk preacher (Willie Hen) stand on a crate and lament to passersby of how the San Francisco of the past is now gone, replaced with something that seems to overshadow what he remembers of the city.  It’s a scene that invites you into the plight of the main character and how he must face this issue, resulting in a film that’s a beautiful and unforgettable story of what it means to call a place your home.

The story follows a young African-American man, Jimmie Fails (Jimmie Fails, playing a semi-autobiographical version of himself), as he and his best friend, Montgomery Allen (Jonathan Majors), an aspiring playwright, try to regain the former’s childhood home.

Fails, in his feature-film debut, delivers a heartrending performance as a man who will do whatever he can to reclaim the home that’s been a part of his life, even when he wasn’t living in it.  It’s a melancholic portrayal that has him present an unending longing in Jimmie’s eyes as he tries to get back his home.  While you get a sense of how much the house means to him throughout the whole film, one scene that sticks out is when he meets with a banker to go over the possibility of him being able to afford the house.  In this sequence, Jimmie bares his soul when talking about how dedicated he would be towards paying off the house, even if it’s out of his financial grasp, and you’re nothing short of moved when Fails performs this scene.  This is an understated performance for the film’s duration, but the way in which Fails is able to convey the deep passion that his character has for his house and San Francisco without overdoing it is impactful, leaving you in awe at this promising new actor.

Majors is every ounce as good, helping Jimmie on his quest to acquiring the house.  The loyalty and camaraderie that he shares with Jimmie shows you how much Montgomery cares about helping his friend achieve what he desires, even if Montgomery sometimes seems like he might not think this is what’s best.  While Montgomery seems soft-spoken for most of the film, there’s a sequence within the last half hour where all of his emotions come to a head, and the power with which he expresses them astounds you and causes you to stop breathing as he takes the reins of what may be the most pivotal scene in the film.

Any sequence that Fails and Majors share is something to treasure, as their brotherly connection highlights how home isn’t just a place, but the people with whom you share your life.  There’s an inseparableness between them that seems like it can withstand the changes that have occurred throughout the years in San Francisco, and you experience the comfort that they feel as they go about their day-to-day lives enjoying each other’s company and try to make their way in a city that seems to have forgotten them.

Populating Jimmie and Montgomery’s beloved childhood city is a group of strong supporting performances, such as Danny Glover as Montgomery’s grandfather; Tichina Arnold as Jimmie’s aunt; Rob Morgan as Jimmie’s father; Mike Epps as Jimmie’s childhood friend; Finn Wittrock as a real estate agent; and Willie Hen as a preacher.  Despite each of these characters having limited screen time, they all add their own significance to Jimmie and Montgomery’s story and make their appearances as impactful as they can.

The screenplay by Talbot and Rob Richert, which is partly based on Fails’ life, focuses on the gentrification that San Francisco has experienced, with the story allowing us to travel throughout the city’s streets and get a sense of the personality that’s been erased from this region over the years.  On several occasions, such as in one scene with a tour group on Segways, or another scene with a trolly full of obnoxious party people, we see the how much of the city’s character has changed, giving us the chance to mourn with Jimmie and Montgomery as they gaze upon a city that’s unrecognizable to them.  It’s a deep examination of San Francisco and a friendship whose roots are based within it, and we’re offered a chapter in Jimmie and Montgomery’s lives that succeeds in showing us the wider picture of what they’ve experienced while growing up.

In his feature-directorial debut, Talbot captures the sights, sounds, and people of San Francisco with a love that’s so strong, it just about whisks you away to those streets and makes you a part of the city.  With the help of cinematography from Adam Newport-Berra, Talbot has us move around the house, where the camerawork captures the gorgeous interior that’s kissed by the sunbeams that hit through the windows.  We travel from room to room as we see how much this home is ingrained in Jimmie and Montgomery’s lives, and the excitement that they express as they enter the house and exude boundless joy absorbs you into this grand occasion.  There’s also the use of slow motion in a few instances within the first 10 minutes as Jimmie and Montgomery travel down the city streets and view the people that cross their paths.  The use of slow motion allows us to hone in on the details of those citizens as these two characters glimpse at them, letting us see these individuals through Jimmie and Montgomery’s eyes.

Through an emotional gaze of two young men trying to recover what’s theirs, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is a tribute as to how your home shapes your identity and the importance of never forgetting from where you came.

Grade: A