Beale Street is a loud street. Beale Street is our legacy. The essay, No Name in the Street … Barry Jenkins again triumphs in truly showing, not simply telling, that blackness is beautiful and that black lives do matter. As adaptations go, Barry Jenkins’ film version of James Baldwin’s classic novel If Beale Street Could Talk remains very faithful to the source material. His fifth novel (and 13th book overall), it is a love story set in Harlem in the early 1970s. “If Beale Street Could Talk” ’s couple, Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (KiKi Layne), are gorgeous in an abstracted, mythological sense, as if they were the first man and woman on earth. The most significant departures are in the handling of a key character and the ending, so let that be your spoiler warning: I will be discussing key plot points and the ending of this book and movie. Spoilers for If Beale Street Could Talk, book and film.. A beautifully shot movie, important experiences in American life, and a refreshing glimpse of the black experience in NYC in the '70s. If Beale Street Could Talk is hands down one of the best movies of the year. In 1974, James Baldwin published a book-length essay reflecting on the Civil Rights Movement. Get an answer for 'Is Fonny out of prison at the end of "If Beale Street Could Talk"?' If Beale Street Could Talk is a 1974 novel by American writer James Baldwin. “If Beale Street Could Talk” leaves the viewer with feelings of anger at the fate society forces Fonny to accept, but it also conjures up some optimism for his and Tish’s future. Part of me understands the argument that this would have been best served as a theatrical production, as the dialogue feels as such at times. This isn’t a happy film but it isn’t a hopeless one, either. The title is a reference to the 1916 W.C. If Beale Street Could Talk doesn't explain how long Fonny is in prison, and it's kept vague to make a specific point: Any amount of prison time is too … Every black person born in America was born on Beale Street, born in the back neighborhood of some American city, whether in Jackson, Mississippi, or in Harlem, New York. This novel deals with the impossibility and the possibility, the absolute necessity, to give expression to this legacy. Stong material, great acting, but left the theater feeling like it was more of a tribute to a book and less of a work that makes the best use of film to tell a story. and find homework help for other If Beale Street Could Talk questions at eNotes In fact, hearing If Beale Street Could Talk is as rewarding as seeing it. Handy blues song "Beale Street Blues", named after Beale Street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Stephan James and Barry Jenkins talk through a key scene in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” filmed with Brian Tyree Henry. Because If Beale Street Could Talk is largely about the injustices that black people face in America, it’s worth considering The Fire Next Time in tandem with the novel, since it is Baldwin’s nonfiction exploration of race relations in the United States.