Review of Corrina, Corrina

"Corrina Corrina" is very much a film of the 1990s set in the 1950s. Miss Goldberg uses her tried and trusted "Feisty Black Woman" schtick but it doesn't sit well in a movie set in an era when,whether we like it or not,black people behaved very differently amongst white people. The Little Rock desegregation episode occurred as late as 1957 and the Civil Rights marches were some time in the future,few blacks felt secure enough to go against the wishes of their white employers or even cuss and swear in their presence. Clearly there is a strong political edge to this movie,it could hardly be otherwise given our current obsession with racial and religious tensions both in the U.S and the U.K.Black Christian woman and white atheist Jew fall in love - I'm not sure how convincingly - but conveniently,for the very basis of the movie is that love laughs at locksmiths.Would that it were true. From "Romeo and Juliet" onwards playwrights have been telling us it isn't,but we're still clinging on to the hope. A few remarkable people succeeded in ignoring the social pressures,but even in the 21st century race and religion are barriers that can prove insurmountable. Commendably, in "Corrina Corrina" nobody pretends it's going to be easy for Mr Liotta and Miss Goldberg.It is a measure of the film's effectiveness that I felt concerned for their future. There is some wonderful music,we hear Louis Armstrong and Oscar Peterson doing "You go to my head" and Mr Liotta and Miss Goldberg duet Bill Evans' "Peace piece" on the piano quite delightfully.The title of the film is derived from an old blues song. Despite the caveat of my first paragraph I did enjoy this movie. As the lights went up I realised that hope springs eternal in the human breast - even mine.