Sylvies Liebe (2020)

Sylvies Liebe: Directed by Eugene Ashe. With Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Eva Longoria, Aja Naomi King. When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.

“IN BRIEF: Lovely to look at and pleasant to hear, but thereu0026#39;s not much there in this dopey love story.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJIMu0026#39;S REVIEW: (MILDLY RECOMMENDED) Love and jazz is in the air in director/ writer Eugene Asheu0026#39;s Sylvieu0026#39;s Story, a soap opera romance about…what else.? Two young people fall hopelessly in love. The setting is Harlem, during the late fifties and Mr. Ashe creates a vivid Douglas Sirku0026#39;s Technicolor world of bouffant hair-dos and hourglass silhouettes. Despite all the fine trappings and Declan Quinnu0026#39;s lovely camerawork, the film never really gels. As the film progresses, its predictability level becomes gag-worthy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTessa Thompson plays Sylvie, an independently-minded attractive woman who meets-cite with her soulmate, Robert, a jazz saxophone musician. Of course, there are obstacles in their way: she: an previous engagement to wed; he: an up-and-rising gig in Paris. Will these lovers ever find happiness? Well, what do you think? Bring on the heartache.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe actors try valiantly to sell their story, but the problem is with a formulaic narrative that telegraphs the complications long before they arise. Much of the romantic entanglements of this ill-fated duo are caused by their poor decision-making, not bad timing as Mr. Ashe would have one believe. So the empathy level is nil. (My eyeballs had a real workout through this movie as these peepers kept rolling with each wrong turn.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eComposer Fabrice Lecomteu0026#39;s jazz score may be smooth and mellow, but poor Sylvieu0026#39;s life has so many melodramatic bumps on the road to love, foremost being a mawkish screenplay that might appease soap opera fans. Those who have a higher aesthetic standard may be singing the blues. In Sylvieu0026#39;s Love, music and love may conquer just about anything. But, try as it may, the movie canu0026#39;t overcome its truly cornball story, no matter how well you play it. (GRADE: C+)”