The Last Black Man in San Francisco Parent Guide

Jimmie Fails (played by himself) has been working on a house for years; maintaining the garden, repainting the trim, and generally keeping the outside of the home looking presentable. The problem? It’s not his house. Jimmie’s grandfather build the house with his own two hands in 1946 and Jimmie feels that the current owners are allowing it to fall into disrepair. When they are forced to move out, and eventually put the house on the market, Jimmie more or less moves in with his friend Montgomery Allen (Jonathan Majors) who helps him bring in their old furniture and spruce up the interior. But San Francisco is a busy city, and soon Jimmie will have to face up to some hard truths and difficult realities which threaten to tear him away from the home to which he feels so attached.

This quasi-autobiographical story makes for one of the most earnest, good-hearted, and deeply emotional movies I’ve seen in some time. Jimmie Fails wrote the script with director Joe Talbot, and his personal connection to the material illuminates his performance. Jonathan Majors also stands out well in a cast littered with excellent performances. And in a big plus, the film is beautifully shot without sacrificing good storytelling. The camera work is artfully done without drawing attention to itself or being distracting, but it is superb to watch.

This is a powerful film and its greatest impact comes from its sensitive approach to the emotions of its characters. Men in movies in general, and African-American men specifically, are usually written to be emotionally withdrawn, or limited solely to “masculine” emotions like anger. The male characters here, on the other hand, are shown more realistically, with deep personal feelings that they cannot help but express. Nearly every character is shown crying at some point, and they rely on their friends for emotional comfort. It’s important that movies be willing to portray emotionally healthy behavior, especially for young men, to help beat back the consequences of toxic masculinity.

This film, in spite of its content issues, is well worth a watch. The biggest problem for most audiences will be the frequent use of profanity, including sexual expletives and the “n” word.. There is a scene which includes about five seconds of full frontal male nudity, but in the movie’s defense, its shot from a distance and is as non-sexual as you can get.

If the content doesn’t scare you off, I highly recommend that you go out and see this movie. It’s a touching story well told, carrying the pain of nostalgia for childhood, the love of having a home rather than just a house, and the stories we tell ourselves about our lives. It gives a complex issue – gentrification and affordable housing – a personal touch and a sense of immediacy. With an excellent cast and a fabulous script, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a love/hate letter to an ever-evolving city, and an undisguised love letter for its denizens.