Universal has released a second trailer for its upcoming romantic drama, The Photograph. Romantic dramas are hard to come by in Hollywood these days, least of all those featuring people of color. Looking to change that, writer-director Stella Meghie and producer Will Packer (Straight Outta Compton, Girls Trip) have teamed up for The Photograph, a movie starring Insecure‘s Issa Rae as Mae Morton, an up and coming professional who sets out on a journey to learn more about her late mother’s early life after her death. Along the way, she meets and ends up falling in love with Michael Block (Atlanta‘s Lakeith Stanfield), a journalist who aids her on her task.
Rae and Stanfield are joined in The Photograph by Chanté Adams (Roxanne Roxanne) and Rae’s Insecure costar Y’Lan Noel as Mae’s young mother Christina, a famed photographer, and her secret love. Previously, Universal released a trailer for The Photograph suggesting Christina and Mae’s storylines unfold simultaneously in the film, with events playing out in the past while Mae learns the truth about her mom in the present. However, with just a couple weeks to go before the film hits theaters, the studio is changing its marketing strategy.
The second trailer for The Photograph takes a different approach and focuses on Mae and Michael’s love story, leaving the flashbacks to Christina’s life out entirely. You can see as much for yourselves in the space below.
Unlike its predecessor, this new trailer is vague about Mae’s backstory and avoids explaining how her strained relationship with her recently-deceased mother makes her hesitant to pursue a relationship with Michael. It also strives to make The Photograph look lighter-hearted than the first trailer did by highlighting some of the funny exchanges between Michael and his friend (played by Stanfield’s Get Out costar Lil Rel Howery). The Photograph is tracking for a modest debut over the impending Valentine’s holiday frame, going up against the family-friendly Sonic the Hedgehog and horror movie reboot Fantasy Island. That might explain Universal’s sudden attempt to make The Photograph more appealing to those who’re in the mood for an adult love story, but one that isn’t too serious or heavy.
After her YA adaptation Everything, Everything got a lukewarm reception in 2017, Meghie rebounded with the well-received comedy The Weekend (which premiered at TIFF 2018 before opening a year later). She appears to be in her element with The Photograph, crafting a romantic drama that acknowledges and examines the emotional factors that complicate grown-up relationships. For their part, Rae and Stanfield have proven they’re equally adept at comedy and drama, delivering more serious performances in films like The Hate U Give and Uncut Gems. Whatever flaws it might have, The Photograph continues to look like something worth checking out when it arrives next month.
Source: Universal
