‘If Beale Street Could Talk:’ filmmaker Barry Jenkins adapts James Baldwin’s novel

Stephan James as Fonny and KiKi Layne as Tish in "If Beale Street Could Talk." Photo credit: Tatum Mangus/Annapurna Pictures

Barry Jenkins’ new movie is “If Beale Street Could Talk,” an adaptation of a James Baldwin novel. It’s a love story in 1970s Harlem, told in flashbacks. When 19-year-old Tish discovers she’s pregnant, her family works hard to get her partner, Fonny, out of prison in time for the birth.