(Warning: this is a film geek post…)

I remembering watching ‘I Will Follow’ when it was first released, and thinking it was cool but something throwing me off about it.  It wasn’t Haterade, or thinking it was poorly made, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  So I watched it again today and finally figured it out.

It’s nuanced, it’s subtle.  The entire film.  Hear me out…

We’ve been programmed, even those of us with good intentions, to expect a certain amount of over the top ‘drama’ in a film about black folks now.  And I’m sincerely not to trying to shit on any of the other black filmmakers out there doing their thing, but even in the newest film working its way through the hype machine, there’s a lot of comedy that’s funny but doesn’t feel grounded in reality.  Anyway, on the second viewing when I watched ‘I Will Follow’ on its own terms, and stopped judging it against what I was expecting it to be, I enjoyed it a lot more.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s on Instant Netflix now.  Check it out: