The Last Black Man In San Francisco

Jimmy (Jimmie Fails) wants to have a home, to move back home, to a very specific home. A house in the heart of San Francisco, the Fillmore district, a house built in the 1940's by his Grandad. He sees it as his birthright and he sets about fixing it, while the owners are still in it. They do not appreciate his help. A black man on their property, oh no. One day he finds the place abandoned and he and his best friend Mont (Jonathan Majors) decide to take a chance.

Every now and then a film comes along that's hard to describe. The Last Black Man In San Francisco is one of them. It's a film about love, change, loving your home, hating your home, the ties that bind, gentrification both city and self, being yourself, family, friends, what is means to be a man, what it means to be a black man, the horror of toxic masculinity, privilege, who has it and who doesn't. It makes San Francisco into a character in it's own right too. It's a film that could only be made in San Francisco, a place of eternal change. Where poverty stricken America clashes into Silicon Valley.

There's a lot going on here but don't let that scare you away. You'll miss out on a warm loving watch that never ever goes the way you think it will. A segway tour guide (Jello Biafra) stunned into silence, an unexpected song followed by one that's expected, a confrontation that goes to the place you'd least expect, an old friendship rekindled then pissed on, a bus reunion that will kick the heart out of your chest and redefine your ideas on family. A series of vignettes that are connected by everything described above.

I went into this expecting one thing and got something very different. It's a film that will make you rethink preconceived notions of African American cinema and what it can do to you. There's a strain of emotion running through this that will stop you in your tracks. Life's disappointments hit and hit hard. But then it's funny too. A trip down memory lane wringing laughter from terrible memories, a street naturist, two friends hounding each other and loving it. It's a film that will make you feel something.

I've never seen Jimmie Fails before and I can't wait to see him again. There's something in his face that makes him mesmeric to watch. The sadness when he realises he's the wrong colour for his plans. The glow when he sees an opportunity. The horror when something huge dawns on him. He doesn't need to talk at all and you'll be glued to what he's doing. Jonathan Majors as Mont does well too and the two of them together are magic. It's great when an onscreen friendship feels like a real one and as the film develops the friendship deepens and it's just perfectly drawn.

I've a feeling this going to be in a lot of top 10's come Christmas. It's definitely going to be in mine. In cinemas now.