Mark Reviews Movies: MISS JUNETEENTH

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Review by Mark Dujsik | June 18, 2020

There's a refreshingly honest simplicity to the story of Miss Juneteenth. Writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples' feature debut just observes these characters, as they try to make ends meet and figure out which path to take in life.

The story revolves an annual pageant, in which Black teenage girls from the Fort Worth area compete for a potentially life-changing scholarship to college, but the most significant challenge presented by the plot is a mother trying to juggle money in order to pay for her daughter's dress for the competition. Peoples could have invented an obstacle or two or three from a litany of other gimmicks or contrivances. It's likely, though, that none of them would have been as recognizable, as informative, and as painful in its familiarity as something this simple.

The mother is Turquoise Jones (Nicole Beharie), who won the Miss Juneteenth pageant when she was her daughter's age. It was supposed to open the doors to a world of professional and personal opportunities, but Turquoise became pregnant, stayed home, and now is a server at a local barbecue restaurant.

Her 14-year-old daughter Kai (Alexis Chikaeze) doesn't really want to participate in the pageant, but Turquoise insists, believing that it will help her daughter's way toward a different path than the one she took. While Turquoise works extra shifts and puts off bills to pay for Kai's gown, she also has two men—Kai's father Ronnie (Kendrick Sampson), who's technically Turquoise's husband, and Bacon (Akron Watson), a charming funeral director—vying for her attention and affections.

There isn't much more to say about the story, except that it feels authentic in its characters, its sense of place, and its conviction in the idea that no challenge is too small to create genuine conflict. The mother and daughter clash a bit over the pageant, although with understanding for each other's position. The money appears and disappears. Promises to help are made and broken.

Turquoise keeps working ("Nobody works harder than me," Turquoise says at one point, and by then, the statement possesses layers of meaning about the character) and striving to convince her daughter. Kai keeps trying to find a way to respect her mother's wishes and to work toward her own dreams.

Guided by People's compassionate direction and Beharie's assured performance, Miss Juneteenth finds drama in the simple things. It's a lovely and tender film.

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