I Will Follow (2011)
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Reviews Counted: 10
Fresh: 8 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.5/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
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Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 333
Movie Info
An Official Selection of AFI Fest, Chicago International Film Festival, RiverRun Film Festival and Winner of the Narrative Audience Award at Urbanworld Film Festival, I WILL FOLLOW is a quiet drama that explores the surprising thirst for life we experience after the death of someone we love. Maye is a success. Hot career. Hot boyfriend. But when her world is turned upside down by family tragedy, she must struggle to maintain her balance. I WILL FOLLOW chronicles a day in the life of a woman at a
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All Critics (10) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (2)
There's smooth-jazz polish to the emotions, even the unpleasant ones, in "I Will Follow."
Top CriticI Will Follow, Ava DuVernay's triumphant feature debut, is a life-affirming portrait of a woman, Maye (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), juggling all kinds of loss.
This touching if insular drama about a woman grieving over the recent death of her aunt is well acted and incisively observed, although it's ultimately too low-key to have much dramatic impact.
Shows a certain amount of promise but often falls prey to easy emotional beats and an overall sentimentality when it should push for moments less obvious, more rare, true and insightful.
As a director, DuVernay handles her actors with care, though visually the picture sometimes betrays its shoestring budget.
In one way or another, every emotion in this wonderful independent film is one I've experienced myself. Grief, of course. But also anger, loneliness, confusion and a sense of lost direction.
Congrats to Salli Richardson-Whitfield for delivering a career performance, here, and to Ava DuVernay for shooting such a thought-provoking meditation on mortality in just a couple of weeks and on a micro budget.
If you want a movie with a flawless script, passionate actors, tears and laughs that result in inspiration, then this is a must-see. 'I Will Follow' is a full dose of humanity and makes me proud to be associated with the film industry.
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Movie: ID: 771208889 Title: I Will Follow Release Date: 2011-03-11 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 6 Status: 1
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Even though I am not a big fan of digital handheld camerawork, "I Will Follow" is an emotionally complex and poignant film about what is left behind after a person dies, not only in the material sense, but in how they are remembered. In any case, it is always best to respect others' wishes no matter how much it might pain us. All of which plays out over a 24 hour time span that allows us to get an idea of not only what Amanda's life was all about, but also Maye's, too. That's not to mention the paean to studio musicians while serving up a surprising defense of disco.