Her 2007 article “From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By,” led to her to write the elegant book about love, loss and legacy upon which this movie is based, and with which it shares its title.
Denzel Washington directs this adaptation with care, respect and a deep-seated knowledge of the Black love stories that don’t make it to the big screen nearly enough.
In the movie, Dana meets Charles on a visit to her parents’ home near Fort Knox, Ky.
Charles might drop for morning push-ups, but he’ll also bow his head for grace at a restaurant.
She even shares a doozy of an argument, the kind that either breaks up a couple or makes them stronger.
While the movie makes it clear that Dana and Charles are successful, it doesn’t always get at the labor necessary to get them there, both as a couple and as individuals.