SXSW Reviews
“Visually more sophisticated than the bulk of features to yet come out of the new wave of DIY independent American cinema, narratively smoother and yet still boundless in mold-breaking ambition, Medicine for Melancholy offers a self-contained rebuttal to claims that precious, naturalistic dramas about the existential dilemmas of hipster singles are exclusively a white man’s game.”
“Stunningly photographed… Medicine for Melancholy is an appealingly modest film with two strong lead performances (by Wyatt Cenac and, particularly, Tracey Heggins), and a beautiful sense of balance; it never presupposes that the romantic possibilities of its two illicit lovers are more important than the social reality Jenkins quite deftly embeds them in.”
- Scott Macaulay, Filmmaker Magazine
“A bittersweet paean to San Francisco and its indie scene, Medicine for Melancholy…is an assured and impressive debut from Barry Jenkins, and one of the great finds of the festival.”
- Alison Willmore, The Independent Eye, IFC.com
“Enlightened and tenderly beautiful…easily my favorite film at SXSW 2008.“
“Sometimes I feel like I’ve seen too many movies about the problems of contemporary twentysomethings and their relationships, but Medicine for Melancholy is deeper, more thoughtful, and more satisfying than many low-budget first features.”
“Warmly Poetic… Fiercely Intellectual”
“Medicine For Melancholy is an ambitious achievement on many different levels: formally, aesthetically, dramatically, intellectually. It is destined to stand as one of 2008’s most impressive and highly accomplished low-budget dramas.”
- Michael Tully, Hammer to Nail
“Barry Jenkins‘ thoroughly engaging Medicine for Melancholy is a two-character tour through the race and class dynamics of modern-day San Francisco…Tracey Heggins’ Joanne is in many ways the emotional and moral core to the story, and the further I get from this film the more I think about her… Hers is a slow burn that remains undetected through much of the first half, but which smolders into the film’s final sequence and beyond.”
-Durier Ryan, Filmmaker Magazine
“With the memory of what the Redevelopment Agency recently did to the Fillmore District barely mollified, current events in South Beach reveal the same forces at work, even as an initiative to make rent control illegal in California is being crafted for the next election. If rent control is repealed, what will happen to San Francisco’s ethnic (and—by extension—creative) diversity? Good questions indeed. Rendered through the scale of a human interaction, Medicine for Melancholy reveals the potential collateral damage. Is there really an appropriate medicine for such melancholy?”
- Michael Guillen, Twitch Film
Full press kit / promotional art contact sheet:
Philadelphia Film Festival (PA)
Sarasota International Film Festival (FL)
Independent Film Fesitval of Boston (MA)
©Strike Anywhere Films 2007