If I Go Will They Miss Me

Brother Bro4.0

Such a beautiful and empathetic portrait of parenthood. Was brought to tears a few times. Really felt there was a depth to both the mother and father which filmmaker Walter Thompson-Fernandez elegantly explores without losing their complexity. J. Alphonse Nicholson and Danielle Brooks deliver outstanding performances bringing them to life.The gorgeous photography and naturalism in the performances and casting make this an impactful ode to the neighborhood. Without making it its explicit mission, Thompson-Fernandez and cinematographer Michael Fernandez are clearly thoughtful about visually representing African American lives in the vein of filmmakers like Barry Jenkins, RaMell Ross, Jomo Fray, and Kahlil Joseph. Here these influences are integrated into a narrative feature where the characters are front and center. It’s a film which is deeply in touch with deeply flawed people

Matt Neglia4.0

One of the more lyrical films I’ve seen at the festival that would make Barry Jenkins proud, IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME is a poetic story of a young boy searching for connection with a father desperate to protect what he loves. Set under the shadow of passing planes in Watts, Los Angeles, Walter Thompson-Hernández expands his short film into a feature with grounded realism and dreamlike imagery braided together. While the surreal Greek mythological touches occasionally feel overextended, the heart of the film and its soulful vision remain strong throughout. Quietly powerful work from J. Alphonse Nicholson and Danielle Brooks. As visually stunning as you can get on an independent budget, it captures the ache and beauty of growing up and letting go. Really hope this finds an audience as I cannot wait to see what Walter Thompson-Hernández does next.

Robert Daniels4.5

An adaptation of his same-titled short, the lyrical narrative is defined by a bracing sense of wonder and an evocatively delivered humanism that, initially, is an ode to Charles Burnett’s thoughtful social realist dramas. During the film’s soaring opening montage, Lil Ant (Bodhi Dell), a perceptive teenager whose father Big Ant (J. Alphonse Nicholson) has recently been released from prison, tells us via voiceover about his father’s first brush with trouble. While Jon Baptiste croons a cover of “This Bitter Earth,” Lil Ant recalls that his dad was once a fun-loving kid, who found problems when he threw a brick at a janitor from a rooftop. While Lil Ant imparts this tale, Thompson-Hernández and his co-editor Daysha Broadway nimbly intercut scenes of his father’s past frivolity with contemporaneous images of his father and mother Lozita (Danielle Brooks) shouldering the weight of Big Ant’s absence. The latter sentiment is visually transposed over Big Ant and Lozita engaging in a stiff slow dance that recalls Henry G. Sanders and Kaycee Moore’s burdensome swaying in Burnett’s “Killer of Sheep.” [full capsule review via RogerEbert]