Susan Granger’s review of “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” (A24)
This is actor Jimmie Fails’ deeply personal story about his dreams of reclaiming the $4 million Victorian house that he believes his African-American grandfather built in 1946 in the Fillmore district near the Golden Gate in San Francisco, becoming known as “the first black man in San Francisco.”
Riding around on his skateboard, Jimmie tells everyone that – since his grandfather built the distinctive, multi-story structure after returning from W.W. II – it should rightfully be his. Currently homeless, Jimmie bunks in with his buddy Montgomery Allen (Jonathan Majors) in his blind Grandfather’s (Danny Glover) small house.
Once a week, he and Mont, who is a gifted artist/playwright, visit the now-rundown mansion where they persist in painting the red exterior trim, despite protests from the current occupants. It’s obvious that, although he hasn’t lived there in many years, Jimmie’s identity is intricately tied to this particular place by family lore.
When the elderly owner dies, Jimmie and Mont move in, establishing their own concept of ‘squatters’ rights.’ And when a historic architectural tour stops outside, Jimmie informs the guide that what he’s telling the Segway-riding tourists about the house’s history is wrong.
Totally obsessed beyond reason, defiant Jimmie convinces Mont that he must claim his family legacy in the “Harlem of the West,” providing a sense of continuity that’s been lost through gentrification.
Eventually, however, fact overwhelms fiction.
Based on a story by Jonathan Majors and director Joe Talbot, it’s scripted by Talbot and Rob Reichert. With cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra, they dreamily explore interlaced themes of fractured families, lost roots, bonds of friendship and the socio-economic concept of ‘home’ in contemporary urban culture.
The film’s weak point is the black jive jargon that passes for insightful dialogue, particularly involving a group of belligerent black men who hang out on the street, acting like a Greek chorus.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” is a poetic, subtly poignant 7 – about abandoning the past and moving on.
