Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
The story of Nola Darling's simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men is told by her and by her partners and other friends. All three men wanted her to commit solely to them; Nola resists being "owned" by a single partner.
Spike Lee's debut is a landmark of American independent cinema, shot with striking black-and-white photography and a loose, documentary-style energy that feels genuinely fresh. Its frank, female-centered exploration of sexual autonomy and polyamory was bold for 1986, and Lee's voice — direct address, jazz scoring, Brooklyn setting — is immediately distinctive. The ensemble performances are uneven but charming. The plot itself is episodic and thin, held together more by attitude than structure. The ending is its weakest point: the rape scene is jarring and tonally inconsistent, and even Lee himself has since disavowed it, undercutting the film's otherwise progressive sexual politics.