in some ways Beale feels less like a movie than a well-staged, meticulously shot play; a period piece that floats beyond its specific time and place and into the realm of allegory
finely wrought literary adaptation; Barry Jenkins creates many remarkable scenes, particularly as the male characters discuss the racist realities with which they live
bold, bluesy and beautiful; If the movie's slow burn seems to build toward a powerful release that doesn't materialize, the sheer beauty of its craft and the heartfelt feeling behind every scene nonetheless command attention
Barry Jenkins channels all of James Baldwin's lyricism and anger into a story of love and injustice that burns with a gentle flame, occasionally blazing into a white heat. It's beautifully crafted and,...it's definitely cinematic
Barry Jenkins brings a colorful, idealistic eye to James Baldwin's 1974 novel; A work of social realism elevated to poetic heights by the sheer beauty of its voice and the humanism of its spirit
a masterful poetic romance; With more vitality and humor than "Moonlight," Barry Jenkins' reliance on the original text opens up the filmmaker's style, but he also turns the material into a broader meditation on James Baldwin's broader concerns