Love is a singular most feeling that hits differently to each of its prey. For some, it’s a paradise in wonderland, but for most of us, it deteriorates you like an addictive drug. When Love is in talks, Music and Poetry becomes an instant connect and that’s how the love birds of Sylvie’s Love flock together, through Jazz.
Sylvie’s Love is a period drama set in 1960s New York. The film is written, directed, and produced by Eugene Ashe, who single-handedly rides the musical wagon.
The narrative is divided into two parts, a timeline in the past when Sylvie Parker (Tessa Thompson) and Robert Halloway (Nnamdi Asomugha) cross paths for the first time. But what’s a story without complications and a relationship without stepping on the piercing Thorne of separation. Sylvie and Robert are separated or to be appropriate, walked their own way, to pursue their individual dreams.
Five years later, Sylvie and Robert strike again in New York, with different jobs and different lifestyles. Sylvie is married to her fiance and lives with her young daughter. Robert is still trying his luck as a saxophone artist while Sylvie is trying to balance her family life along with her aspirations to become a TV producer. When they meet again, the love rekindles. However, between some people, there is an extraordinary kind of love, where both want their lover to prosper with or without them. That’s the kind of love Sylvie and Robert share.
The Extraordinary Element
The premise of Sylvie’s and Robert’s love story is nothing unusual or out of ordinary. Sylvie is already engaged when she meets Robert who comes to work in Sylvie’s father’s record shop. Sylvie’s mother, a stickler on how an engaged woman should behave, warns Sylvie not to pursue a path that isn’t moral enough. Sylvie’s fiancé is stationed in Korea and they are soon going to be married. Titanic Enough, isn’t it. But as centuries and stories have witnessed, Love understands no morals. Its inherent nature is rebellious.
Sylvie gets pregnant with Robert’s child but Robert is soon bound to Paris for a life-changing gig. Robert asks Sylvie to run away with him, unaware of her pregnancy, while Sylvie is sure that an unexpected child would hinder all of Robert’s great dreams. Sylvie stays back and the lovers are separated. The sacrifice for one’s dream is the extraordinary element of Sylvie’s Love.
In the second half of the film, Robert makes a similar stand and leaves Sylvie’s because he knows that he is an anchor who would hold back Sylvie from pursuing her dream to become a TV Producer. This is the exact emotional moment that brightens up all the previous plot and brings you a feeling, rarely felt in Cinema. The actions of Sacrifice for another’s dream.
In the end, Sylvie is sitting with her best friend Mona near the beach shore. She asks Mona why Robert didn’t tell her that he didn’t have a job. I would have gone with him and supported him.
“I think that’s exactly why he didn’t tell you. Kind of like you not telling him about being pregnant. Maybe, he didn’t want you to throw away everything you worked so hard for. You know, most people never find that kind of love.”
Sylvie’s Friend, Mona
To wrap up, Sylvie’s Love is not an extraordinary tale, but the emotions move you unintentionally. There is so much honesty and innocence in emotions portrayed on screen that it is bound to instill feelings in you. The film is an extraordinary endeavor by its creator Eugene Ashe, who becomes the Jack of many trades for the film, being the writer, director, and producer. Her bravery is with an ovation.
If you want to stream an adorable film with your partner or maybe alone, to feel a little warmer, do watch this ordinary tale, told by an extraordinary director.
Sylvie’s Love is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
For more Quality Content, Do visit Digital Mafia Talkies | DMT
