REVIEW: Beyonce’s Lemonade: Brilliant Artistry

Lemonade. Directed by Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Kahlil Joseph. 5/5

Beyoncé’s Lemonade was as much of a film as a musical album. Though titled a visual album, its brilliant artistry deserves to be reviewed like a film. Along with her sixth solo album, the film also premiered featuring the music. It begins with the realization of her spouse’s infidelity. Her voice begins with some of the first of the spoken word poetry that are woven throughout the film: “I don’t know when love became elusive. What I know is: no one I know has it.”

These poetic lines were written by Warsan Shire, a 27-year-old up-and-coming writer born in Kenya to Somali parents, then raised in London. Her verse is what weaves each song together seamlessly and echoes Beyoncé’s songs- both exploring the themes of family, marriage and faithfulness and the black female body. Shire’s words, spoken by Beyoncé, were very often as powerful, if not more powerful, than the songs that accompanied them. Her lines are spoken softly and clearly against ambient sounds of summer in the distance. The words are eerie and chilling:

“If it’s what you truly want … I can wear her skin over mine. Her hair over mine. Her hands as gloves. Her teeth as confetti. Her scalp, a cap. Her sternum, my bedazzled cane. We can pose for a photograph, all three of us. Immortalized … you and your perfect girl.”

The stunning cinematography in the many different settings each song takes place in adds to the film’s power. Lemonade also showcased the talents of top-notch cinematographers. Neil Miller of Filmschoolrejects.com and their team of artists helped make Beyoncé’s Lemonade the masterpiece it was.

The central location of an old southern plantation tied the entire film together; returning to this scene between and sometimes during the songs. This location is what brings the film into greater significance beyond being a story of a marriage that goes from being broken by infidelity to being fixed with forgiveness.

Beyoncé has always been one to feature others in her songs, but in the Lemonade visual album, she gathers a long list of notable black women to appear in cameos throughout. Along with Beyoncé, all of these powerful and inspiring black women are filmed outside of and in this plantation home. Stunning black girls and women with natural hair and vintage southern dresses moving freely inside a plantation home? That is a powerful image; these women owning their presence in a place that historically was a place of danger and sexual exploitation for enslaved black women.

Serena Williams, model Winnie Harlow, actress Amanda Stenberg, Zendaya, Quvenzhanè Wallis, Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy, YouTube stars Chloe and Halle Bailey, musical duo Ibeyi, ballerina Michaela DePrince, Gwen Carr, and the mothers of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin are only some of the notable women featured throughout.

The last three women, the mothers of black men and boys who were killed by police in the past few years in the US, make another important statement. The deaths of these unarmed men have sparked nationwide protests against police brutality against Americans of color. The news of their deaths created the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and Beyoncé shows her solidarity with the movement with the inclusion of the mothers. The shots of their tears falling as they hold portraits of their sons gives a powerful and painful insight into the unique struggles of black womanhood and motherhood.

She also artistically splices in a voiceover of Malcom X. “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman,” he says in an old speech. “The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”

With her entire story, Beyoncé is bringing attention to how black women, especially those that are wives and mothers, suffer in their relationships, but continue to be strong and thrive

In some sequences, Beyoncé and the other women also wear patterned clothing, jewelry and face paint that is symbolic of African culture. There are also many points in the film that are indicative of a modern American black culture as well. These things along with Beyoncé and the many beautiful black women who appear in the film are making a statement as unapologetically black. They are reclaiming their blackness and their African heritage proudly.

With the spoken word, the visuals and with songs like Formation and Freedom, Beyoncé’s film Lemonade is an important piece that celebrates black women’s strength and beauty and is a call to black women everywhere to take ownership of their roots and to get in formation to lead a revolution.