Black Nativity In Theaters 11/27

I had the privilege of attending a movie screening of Black Nativity a  Cinematic Musical based on the original Off-Broadway play written by Langston Hughes. The Movie stars Jacob Latimore, Angela Bassett, Forrest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, and Tyrese Gibson.

While I think it was a great movie.  I also think it should remain on stage. There's something about timing in  a play that can't be translated on film.  The transition into the songs made some parts of the movie a bit awkward for lack of a better word. I would prefer that the movie follow the model of a typical film and leave the songs to a soundtrack because the music was absolutely amazing, but incorporated into the film, overshadowed the flow of the storyline. I would've rather seen the expressionism that each song emphasized as opportunities for the characters to ...act....simply put.

Don't get me wrong, I do think the acting was great. I especially enjoyed Jacob Latimore's performance, he definitely has star power! His character was that of the son of a single mother weathering the storm of making ends meet without any means to support these efforts.

What the film did address that I think is something that's not talked about often is the mother son relationship in single parent households. Being a single mother,  I saw the dynamic of how the burden of a man's lacking presence in the household is an assumed role for our sons, even if its not vocalized. This film was a reminder for me to allow my son to be a child and that its my responsibility to take care of him and not vice versa. I think its a natural inclination for children to want to take care of their parents as a form of appreciation, but I find that in the mother son relationship this sort of role is taken on prematurely. Our sons are not our husbands or our boyfriends, they are our children and the stress of adulthood should not be transferred to them just because they are the only males in the house.

I also appreciated the strength of the message of the holiday season, keeping Jesus as the center of why we celebrate. I rarely see such faith filled themes in mainstream movies during the holiday season without a film being deemed religious. Its a story of family, broken, and in need of healing.

Overall, it was a great film if you can get past the incorporation of the musical transitions. I know, I get it, its a musical, but I wish that it wasn't, at least  on the big screen.

Support Black Nativity in theaters 11/27/13.