"Baby, I love you. And I’m going to build us a great big table and our family gonna be eatin’ off it for a long, long time to come. And I’m alright too. Don’t you worry. I’m coming home. I’m coming home to you."

Gutting, essential filmmaking. Still one of the defining films of the century so far. Nicholas Britell's score is an all-timer -- how do you make music that sounds like what love feels like? Everything about it is breathtaking, from the performances to the cinematography to the script adapted from Baldwin's novel. The cast is really incredible: after my first viewing, I felt (incorrectly) that KiKi Layne was a bit stilted, but this viewing gave me a much greater appreciation for what she's doing here. She gives the film its rich center, supporting the performances of Stephan James, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Brian Tyree Henry, and Regina King (one of my favorite Oscar wins of the last decade). Barry Jenkins is one of our best. We're lucky to have If Beale Street Could Talk.