Reel Talk: Medicine for Melancholy

I know that this blog is fairly Oakland-centric but I'm very intrigued by this San Francisco based film, Medicine for Melancholy. The movie was featured at the LA Film Festival, was written and directed by Barry Jenkins and stars Tracey Heggins and Wyatt Cenac (of the Daily Show). Based on the preview above and the description below, it sounds funny, yet serious in its potrayal of male/female relations and race relations in the Bay Area.

When Joanne and Micah wake up, clearly having slept together but too hung-over to remember the details, Joanne's ready to write the whole night off as a mistake. Gradually, however, Micah overcomes Joanne's reluctance and, over the course of the day, the two embark on a tentative romance — by turns playful, awkward, political and serious — that is as much an exploration of San Francisco as each other. As young twentysomething African Americans in an increasingly gentrified city, they must navigate issues of race and relationships as their complex interaction reveals the way personal geographies both divide and bring people together.

Check out Barry Jenkins discussing the inspiration behind the film.


The LA Film Festival, in which Medicine for Melancholy was featured, was last year, and I don't know what has come of it since. The scheduled theatrical release date was January 30th, but I haven't seen it featured anywhere. If anyone knows anything about its current status, please drop a comment. And before I go, you know I had to drop a bonus clip with an Oakland shout-out.

Shout out to Wrenagade for putting me up on game!