When a young journalist, Michael Block (LaKeith Stanfield), visits the home of a veteran seaman, a living room photograph grabs Block’s attention. When Block returns home to New York City, his interest in the image leads him to ultimately meet the now deceased photographer’s daughter, Mae (Issa Rae) who also resides in the Big Apple. Their attraction is immediate. While Mae learns some truths about her mother, she and Block try to figure out if they’re meant to be.

Movies with rich, well-developed characters have always appealed to me. The Photograph is that kind of film. The characters are black. But there’s no violence. No one calling each other the “N” word. No one’s on drugs or in prison. They do fall in love. They have close family bonds and loving and supportive friends. It is important to note that this representation of African Americans is authentic because some see only portrayals of black people engaging in seedy behavior as realistic.

Michael and Mae sizzle together. Writer and director, Stella Meghie, has created very deep, very believable characters. When the couple discussed personalities, Mae wonders if we’re all just the people who fit in with those we’re with at that moment. There are also amusing and honest situations. One evening when the couple is alone, he notices that she seems to be praying. She admits that it’s for will power.

With a very strong cast across the board, the story travels back and forth through time when Mae’s mother is young and first moves to New York City, through Mae’s early childhood and then of course into her adulthood.

At $16 million, the film is low-budget by Hollywood standards and film quality is a bit grainy. The story is set in the mid to late 1980s, but only car buffs will realize that a lot of the cars, even those that are supposed to be new, are from the mid-70s.

The Photograph doesn’t reflect New York City’s true diversity. Other than Chelsea Peretti who plays Blocks’ quirky boss, there’s not a lot of non-blacks in this movie. And it gets a C- for cast diversity.

The Photograph, rated PG-13 for sexuality and brief strong language, is 106 minutes long, and is every bit a See It!

Her world is the inside of a beautiful, contemporary home, her mother who is also her doctor (Anika Noni Rose) and her nurse (Ana de la Reguera). She is Maddy, (Amandla Stenberg) an 18-year-old, whose fragile immune system requires that she stay indoors in a controlled environment. Maddy’s knowledge of the outside world comes from books, the internet and looking through the big windows in her house.

It’s through those windows, she first sees her new neighbor, Olly (Nick Robinson). At first, they exchange glances, then notes (placed against the window), finally cell phone numbers which lead to a steady stream of texts. It’s through her relationship with Olly, Maddy finds the courage to venture out.

Everything, Everything, directed by director and screenwriter, Stella Meghie, a Black woman from Canada, is an amazing movie; and it’s a huge See It!

Its starts with the leads Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson; they’re captivating. This film wouldn’t work if they weren’t magical together. And they are. They have to make viewers believe and understand that what they have Maddy would risk her life for. They believe and they understand.

Writers J. Mills Goodloe and Nicola Yoon create two sympathetic characters (Olly has trouble at home) but not pitiful characters that you’ll embrace and cheer for.

Goodloe and Yoon do fall into a common screenwriters trap: writing dialogue which doesn’t make sense other than to try to convey information to viewers. Maddy’s father and brother were killed in an accident when she was a baby. There’s a family photo in Maddy’s room. Her mother picks up the photo and discusses all the details surrounding that photo. Maddy should already know that stuff. But the viewers don’t, so the writers use that device to inform them.

Some of the scenes are not thought through thoroughly. When Maddy does venture out, she goes into a shop, takes an item off the rack and goes straight to the fitting room. This is not the behavior of someone who has never been out her house and has never been in a store.

As to racial diversity, this cast gets an “A”. It’s a small group but diverse in that blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Asians play prominent roles. This is a love story between a black woman and white man. But it’s not about race. In fact, race is not mentioned at all. This story could have been about a man and woman of any race.

Everything, Everything is rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief sensuality and is 96 minutes in length. If you haven’t seen a movie this year, see this one.