Sylvie’s Love: Film Review
I am a huge fan of Tessa Thompson and after watching her in supporting roles in big-budget projects like Westworld, Creed, and Thor: Ragnarok, it was a joy to see her as a leading lady in a romance drama.
The movie begins in the late ’50s in New York City, when Robert (Nnamdi Asomugha), a talented saxophonist in an up-and-coming jazz band, applies for a job at a record store in Harlem run by Sylvie’s father. Despite being engaged to Lacy Parker (Alano Miller), Sylvie cannot resist Robert, but their summer romance is forced to come to an end after he gets offered a job in Paris. Five years later, the duo reconnects over a chance encounter and realise their feelings haven’t gone away.
Sylvie’s Love feels classic and old-fashioned, like romance movies back in the day, and films like that hardly ever get made anymore, let alone with Black leads. It sounds like a simple thing to say but it was so lovely to watch. This film takes us on the journey of Sylvie and Robert’s relationship over several years and you get invested in them as a couple as well as individuals with their own professional problems. I particularly cared about Sylvie’s struggle to become a TV producer although she has no experience and her determination to live her own dreams rather than give up her job to take care of her responsibilities as a wife.
Thompson is charming and captivating and looked stunning in Sylvie’s expensive clothes. She had believable chemistry with Asomugha, who impressed me (I have never seen act before). I also enjoyed Aja Naomi King as Sylvie’s fun cousin Mona, Ryan Michelle Bathe as her fearless and kind boss Kate, Jemima Kirke as The Countess, the manager of Robert’s band, Eva Longoria as Carmen, who does a fabulous song and dance number, and Wendi McLendon-Covey as TV chef Lucy.
The film is a touch too long, completely predictable and perhaps too simplistic for some but I was invested in Sylvie and Robert’s journey and loved watching how their lives panned out over the years.
Available on Prime Video now