I've never been a big fan of Tyler Perry's films. Too often they lack subtlety and are too preachy. I understand A Jazzman's Blues was the first script he ever wrote and to date it's his best. The cast is pitch perfect as is the direction, costume and production design. The last image of a man who believes he's 100% white sitting on his porch beneath a rebel flag of the Old South is priceless. Mr. Perry seems to be saying that given the intermingling of the races in the deep south via forced copulation among other things, how can one ever be sure of the purity of the bloodline that affords one a high or low status within society. Better to judge people by the content of their character and/or their achievements. It's a message that Mr. Perry handles with elegance and subtlety in this his finest film.
Review of A Jazzman's Blues
