Aaron Loves Angela

Gordon Parks Jr.’s final film, Aaron Loves Angela follows two teenagers (Kevin Hooks’ Aaron and Irene Cara’s Angela) as they attempt to pursue a relationship in the face of several obstacles (including interference from the respective families). Filmmaker Parks Jr., working from a screenplay by Gerald Sanford, delivers a sweet yet generally ineffective drama that is, for the most part, devoid of elements worth getting invested in or excited by, and it’s clear, too, that the picture’s arms-length atmosphere is exacerbated by an overly familiar, cookie-cutter narrative and often egregiously deliberate sense of pacing. There’s little doubt, then, that Aaron Loves Angela‘s tolerable vibe is due almost entirely to Hooks and Cara’s charming, ingratiating efforts and Parks Jr.’s strong use of real-life New York City locations, with, in terms of the latter, the filmmaker delivering a production that’s rife with eye-opening sequences set in and around the city’s less-than-savory neighborhoods. (There’s one scene set in Harlem that looks as though it was shot in a war-torn country, for example.) The movie’s third-act transformation into a thriller, complete with murders and chases, doesn’t entirely work, to put it mildly, and it’s ultimately clear that Aaron Loves Angela is unable to make much of a positive impact beyond its status as a time-capsule curiosity.

** out of ****