Premature Review
UnratedRuntime: 1 Hr and 31 MinutesProduction Companies: Mi Alma Films, Astute Films, Slice Entertainment Group, Relic PicturesDistributor: IFC FilmsDirector: Rashaad Ernesto GreenWriters: Rashaad Ernesto Green, Zora Howard Cast: Zora Howard, Joshua Boone, Michelle Wilson, Alexis Marie Wint, Imani Lewis, Tashiana WashingtonRelease Date: February 21st, 2020
Set against the backdrop of a changing Harlem landscape, when 17-year-old Ayanna (Zora Howard) meets handsome and mysterious outsider Isaiah, her entire world is turned upside down as she travails the rigorous terrain of young love the summer before she leaves for college.
During last year’s Sundance, I saw an incredible coming-of-age romance set in contemporary Harlem. Hell, I loved it so much that I saw it again within the same year when Rooftop Films screened it in NYC. Now, at long last, it’s here and… honestly, I’m beating myself up for taking this long to express my love for it. Seriously, if this had received an official release in 2019, it would’ve been in my top 25. But since this is 2020, Premature currently stands at the top.Right from the opening where Ayanna and her clique are calling on good looking dudes on the subway and chilling at the park, feeling that fresh coat of fearlessness and freedom, the blissful slice of life one gets during the summer, I was hooked. Granted, I’m from Brooklyn, but this is the cultural community that I recognize and feel attached to. They’re Gen-Z kids with the distinctive New Yorker dialect where they communicate using modern slang language. Watching that for the first time during Sundance made me feel as if I was at home. The interactions between Ayanna and her friends are so naturally funny and relatable because they align with her age and the environment she’s from.When her romance blooms with Isaiah, it’s natural. Just like in The Photograph, this is another strong Black romance without incorporating stereotypical trauma or whatever as the source of attraction is between the two. The way that Ayanna gazes at Isaiah and how he politely pursues her in small quiet moments is a major strength that makes the romantic buildup effective. Isaiah is sweet, smart, and has this charm that catches her off guard. Because of his own upbringing, he makes gentlemanly gestures towards her.
The romance they share is beautiful and, to be blunt, hot as hell. I personally found that If Beale Street Could Talk has the most beautifully filmed sex scene I’ve seen in my life shot on camera… Until director Rashaad Ernesto Green said, “Hold my beer,” and modernized that. Similar to Beale Street, there is a sex scene where jazz music blares as their bodies are in motion and it’s beautifully artistic. Green boldly exhibits the rawness of this couple’s relationship and the hardships it faces. Their relationship goes through trials and tribulations that become emotionally tragic in a relatable sense. This is Zora Howard’s breakout debut as both a screenwriter and an actress. She carries so much of the movie’s weight with her performance and her writing. Premature sees her as a storyteller as her character navigates through her first real love and coming into womanhood in a real and honest light. It incorporates strenuous real-world issues like balancing a lie between your closest friends and your older lover along with embracing your youth without rushing into adulthood. But the approach writers Zora Howard and Rashaad Ernesto Green take is perfect and mature and it nearly left me in tears by the end. Once the narrative becomes even more gut-punching, treading into the area that provided the movie’s title, it’s handled with such emotional care.
This is a small nitpick but since this is a contemporary romance, the dialogue is as contemporary as it gets. The theme is relevant and classic, but some of the exchanges… Okay, most of the exchanges between Ayanna and her friends are current slang. Slang is always changing so this will not pass the test of time. This is 2020 and it feels relevant, but this might not be the case after a few years. A lot of the current lingo used in Premature will be outdated after a while. It doesn’t undercut my love for this movie in any sense, but I feel for audiences who discover it in a few years (because this will be known as a rare gem of a movie, I just FEEL it).Rating: 4.5/5 | 91%
