Review of The Photograph (2020) by Aynks — 15 Feb 2020

The Photograph offers a dull and bland reality to the Romantic-Drama categories of movies. This cast was not bad whatsoever, in fact, I thought acting was certainly the strong suit to the film. There were some areas of comedy that definitely were hilarious and kept the audience engaged to watch. Overall, for a movie that doesn't exceed 2 hours, it felt like you were there watching for 3+ hours. Upon reading the synopsis to the movie, I already guessed the climax, the ending, etc. It is just too predictable for a romantic-drama movie. The story was flat, not much going on, but thrived whenever Stanfield and Rae were with each other trying to solve this love affair that was circulating throughout the movie. The shots weren't all that special, but they weren't bad at all. Soundtrack was pretty good, I definitely vibe with some of those tunes (it also fit well with the film).

The main issue I have is that the movie could have been 45 mins long and that would have satisfied me. Almost as if it was a short film. The plot did not contain much meat to it, but served as almost a distraction to Stanfield and Rae's constant battle to love each other. The characterization development and flashbacks seemed to dominate the film rather solving this love story itself. Although it was interesting to see the similarities between Rae's mother and her current relationship with Stanfield, it just became a repetitive and dry love story that did not contain the correct plot for a movie like this. If you are going to watch this movie just make sure it is not at night. It is romantic, don't get me wrong. It lacks quality with its plot and screenplay that just leaves me wanting to nap most of the film. Not the most satisfying conclusion to a Valentine's Day film.