Blackbird (2014 film)

For the film made in 2014 and formerly titled "Blackbird", directed and written by Gina Prince-Bythewood, see Beyond the Lights.

Blackbird
Directed by	Patrik-Ian Polk
Screenplay by	Rikki Beadle-Blair Patrik-Ian Polk
Based on	Blackbird 1986 novel by Larry Duplechan
Produced by	Keith Louis Brown Patrik-Ian Polk Carol Ann Shine Isaiah Washington Matthew Young
Starring	Mo'Nique Isaiah Washington Julian Walker Kevin Allesee Gary LeRoi Gray Nikki Jane Torrey Laamar Terrell Tilford D. Woods
Cinematography	Eun-ah Lee
Edited by	Bryan Colvin
Music by	Adam Samuel Goldman
Production companies	KBiz Entertainment Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions
Distributed by	RLJ Entertainment
Release dates	February 16, 2014 (2014-02-16) (Pan African Film Festival) April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Blackbird is a 2014 drama film directed by Patrik-Ian Polk and starring Mo'Nique and Isaiah Washington. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by Larry Duplechan and was released theatrically on April 24, 2015.

Premise

Set in a small baptist community in the south of Mississippi, a 17-year-old high school senior and talented singer juggles with his sexuality and religion while also dealing with the disappearance of his younger sister as it tore his family apart.

Cast

• Julian Walker as Randy Rousseau
• Mo'Nique as Claire Rousseau
• Isaiah Washington as Lance Rousseau
• Kevin Allesee as Marshall MacNeil
• Terrell Tilford as Pastor Crandall
• D. Woods as Leslie Crandall
• Gary LeRoi Gray as Efrem
• Torrey Laamar as Todd Waterson
• Nikki Jane as Crystal

Background

Polk initially tried to get the film made several years earlier, with Jussie Smollett cast as the young lead, however financing fell through. When the funding came through years later, he was forced to re-cast because of Smollett's busy schedule on Empire, and struggled to find a black male actor who would portray a gay love story on screen. However, he later met Julian Walker, who is openly gay, and chose to cast him despite his lack of acting experience.

Polk discussed, in an interview with BuzzFeed, the need for more stories featuring gay men who aren't white:

Through my years of filmmaking, we have seen the gay coming-of-age story from every possible white male point of view ... We’ve seen it over, and over, and over.

Release

The film had a successful run on the film festival circuit, winning awards at several LGBT-oriented festivals including Outflix Memphis, Atlanta’s Out On Film Festival, and the Crossroads Film Festival in Polk’s native Mississippi. The film was the closing night gala screening for Los Angeles’ Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), where it won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature Film.

Reception

Blackbird received mixed to negative reviews from critics. As of August 2020, 40% of the ten reviews compiled on Rotten Tomatoes are positive, with an average rating of 4.6/10. The Hollywood Reporter called it "too all over the map to take seriously". The New York Times said that the film has an "impressive, palpable conviction", although it ultimately "suffers from soapy excesses and narrative disjunctures". Slant Magazine wrote: "Blackbird is, like its main character, too naïve to understand or, at least, to deploy the reparative powers of camp".

See also

• List of black films of the 2010s

External links

• Blackbird at IMDb
• Blackbird at AllMovie
• Blackbird at the TCM Movie Database
• Blackbird at the American Film Institute Catalog