Love, Brooklyn (Sundance 2025) Review – Stuck Between Those Hard Conversations & The Need To Move On

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“Love, Brooklyn” Film Details

Runtime: 1 Hour 37 Minutes
Release Date: January 30, 2025
Initially Available On/Via: Film Festival – Sundance
Advisory Film Rating: Not Rated
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Director(s): Rachel Abigail Holder
Writer(s): Paul Zimmerman
Based On Work By:

Plot Summary

While Roger is pressed with a deadline for an overdue article, he finds himself in a love triangle. His ex-girlfriend, Casey, an art gallery owner and curator, there is still something there with. Their unresolved emotions and lingering chemistry make it hard to know if they are just friends or two people on an extended break, wasting other people’s time. This is how Nicole feels to a certain degree.

Nicole and her daughter Ally are straight shooters. Because Nicole was married before, she was cool with being casual, not a girlfriend but someone Roger saw consistently. But things shift as Ally gets comfortable and wants to form her own relationship with Roger. Thus, Roger must have a few difficult conversations to determine who he will move on from.

Character Descriptions

Roger (André Holland)

Roger is a writer renowned for his last major piece, which was a positive take on Brooklyn. He is a single man with no kids and is dating.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Exhibiting Forgiveness.”

Casey (Nicole Beharie)

Casey owns an art gallery, and is its curator, and she is lucky enough also to own the building. She is Roger’s most recent ex, and despite breaking up, they are still rather close. Some would say like brother and sister, but others, like Nicole, can see something more.

• The actor is also known for their role in “Miss Juneteenth.”

Nicole (DeWanda Wise)

Nicole is a single mom and masseuse who is also a widow. She and Roger have a relationship lacking titles and is treated as casual, but the longer it goes on, the more the question of what they are doing becomes.

• The actor is also known for their role in “How To Tell You’re a Douchebag.”

Ally (Cadence Reese)

Ally is Nicole’s daughter, who is elementary school aged, who is unquestionably her mother’s daughter. She is direct in her questioning, even if the question is uncomfortable, and is, to the best of her abilities, upfront about her feelings.

Review

Characters

Highlight(s)

• How It Establishes Everyone As A Individual [88/100]

What we love the most about “Love, Brooklyn” is that it doesn’t feel like many characters are unnecessary. From the leads down to the sole child character with lines, Ally, everyone is not only established with purpose but stands out and shows out.

For example, unlike most male leads in romance films like this, Roger doesn’t make you question, “Why the interest?” Beyond being told he is a writer, we hear his work; Casey’s interactions with him allow you to see his intelligence can be on the fly, and through Nicole, there are even signs there is some form of emotional intelligence, which isn’t always easy to find when dating. Some may say it is especially hard to find in New York City.

But, setting Roger aside, Nicole and Casey also present fully fleshed-out lives that go beyond trying to avoid criticism but make it out so, even if Roger is positioned as lead, you can see it as him getting the 1% remaining with “Love, Brooklyn” split three ways. Now, how does this work? You have Nicole who is raising a kid, talking about her past relationship with nuance and emotion, as does Ally, and also you see and hear what she is into.

Do we see her work as a masseuse? No. But she studies anatomy, we see Roger has picked up on some of what she talks about and has read, so it is clear what her life is when he isn’t around, and what her life was before she met him.

The same goes for Casey. Her having an art degree isn’t just noted, but we see her gallery, she casually is able to go into the history of a painting early on, she talks about her grandmother giving her the building her shop is in, and it goes on and on. Overall, it is just exciting to see these three as equals and to see them each with their own lives, with some parts intersecting, but there never being a push; one only exists as long as the light is on them.

World-Building & Culture

Highlight(s)

• Brooklyn Isn’t Lost But Evolving [85/100]

While it can feel pretentious to hear anyone from a major city like New York City say that the location is a character within itself, in some ways, “Love, Brooklyn” helps you understand why that is often said. Though Brooklyn is a place, it also has a voice. It’s a collective voice of who lives there. How it looks is based on the art and culture brought from its citizens, and because of that, you see it as a character for like a person, it is a conglomerate of its influences.

And when it comes to “Love, Brooklyn,” it is the kind of place that produces men like Roger and women like Casey and Nicole and also makes room for the personalities who are their friends and clients, and you can even see it in children like Ally. For as much as we credit Nicole’s influence, you can’t deny there are some features Casey has that Ally does too, and so you have to look at their shared environment as the reason why they can be direct to the point of being hurtful, within the same topics in the same ways. It’s because it is the Brooklyn way.

Story & Pacing

Highlight(s)

• Alongside Everyone’s Growth, You’re Invested In The Role They Play [86/100]

Beyond establishing who is who and their relationships, everyone also has growth opportunities in the film, and we’re given some sort of idea of the direction they are going towards as “Love, Brooklyn” comes to an end. Nicole and Ally are trying to navigate having a man in their life again, yet integrating Roger in sometimes is hard since it isn’t like the last man did something wrong – he died.

With Casey, you can see, like Roger, there is this struggle with being unhappy and not having things as you want it, and for Casey, it isn’t just her love life but also her professional life. She is struggling with not being perfect. Heck, across the board, the question of whether to settle and whether or not settling is as bad of a word as people make it out to be is also in play.

I mean, Roger is still passionate about his work and wants to be about his personal relationships, but he’s coming to that point where the ideal may not be possible without notable hardship. He isn’t a 20-something anymore who can stand on some sense of principle and refuse to write certain things that don’t align with his spirit. He has to make it work. The same goes for his relationships. Being with someone who has a child can be tough, just as much as trying to be friends with an ex where old feelings linger, but the familiarity feels too nice to give up.

But with no one being an immature adult, conversations, whether when sober or drunk, have to be had, and while painful, you see everyone try to work on moving forward without looking back.

• It Keeps A Speedy Pace, Without Feeling Like It Is Skipping Over Need To Know Questions [87/100]

You may think with all the aforementioned drama there could be sluggish parts or things skipped over, right? Wrong. I would even say, in terms of Ally, the asset she is in “Love, Brooklyn” is that they use her innocence and lack of need to worry about people’s feelings to express what the audience may feel. This is especially true when it comes to what Roger is doing, his long-term intentions, and more.

But even beyond Ally making sure things keep on a good pace, somehow Paul Zimmerman, with his first feature, figures a way to keep both the interconnected stories and individual stories moving in such a way that never gets dull, always seems to be working towards something and never creating a sense that anyone is overstaying its welcome.

Diverse Hooks & (Re)Watch Value

Highlight(s)

• Fits Into That “This Is Like The Movies From The 90s/00s” Vibe [86.5/100]

Nostalgia has made many believe the last golden age for films focused on Black culture and experiences in America peaked in the ’90s to late ’00s, and everything that came after chased that same vibe. In many ways, “Love, Brooklyn” is no different. While separated from the type of urban that the 90s and 00s films presented, it still has a sort of “Love Jones” or “The Best Man” appeal as it shows people who are professionals in their industry, to a certain degree, struggle in their personal lives, especially regarding love.

I’d even add when it comes to “Love, Brooklyn,” it feels like the kind of film that can evolve the more your experiences become similar to the characters. Nicole losing her husband is an experience that feels specific, and yet, the way Wise plays her allows an almost look-through-the-window experience. Yet, I can imagine, if I ever lost a spouse, layers of separation easily being removed and feeling like I am being seen.

The same goes with Casey and Roger. Whether talking about their relationship or individual journeys, there is so much more to “Love, Brooklyn” than a love triangle romance that can give that sense that what makes this special isn’t just because of the rarity of seeing a Black predominant movie like this, but also it being the kind of film which ages well as you experience all the things life has to offer.

Overall

Our Rating (86/100): Positive (Worth Seeing) – Recommended

Films like these are why I’m glad film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival have gone hybrid. For while I have no doubt “Love, Brooklyn” will find distribution, at the same time, I don’t know if they will make this into a cozy summer release, if BET+ may pick it up and drop it potentially a year from now, following the path “Young. Wild. Free” had or what. S,o to know this exists maybe a year or more before it gets the marketing push it deserves and is widely available feels like a privilege.

Add in I feel like this is one of the first movies in a while that allowed both Nicole Beharie and DeWanda Wise to shine like they haven’t gotten to since they originally popped, and there is just so much to love.

Content Information

• Dialog: Cursing
• Violence: Not Applicable
• Sexual Content: Nothing Notable
• Miscellaneous: Drinking, Drug Use, Smoking

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External Links

• Link To Sundance Page