by Karyn L. Beach

If I could rate a movie on intention alone, Constellation would get an ‘A.’ I long to see more black dramas … family dramas, love stories and just stories in general that aren’t rooted in the hood or in hip-hop culture (because as a people we are a lot more than just that). So when I see a black family film like Constellation, I really want to like it. I really do. But, I have to be honest, I can’t recommend a film because I want to like it, especially when, at the end of the day, I didn’t.

Gabrielle Union is Carmel Boxer, a woman who lived her life nurturing her brother’s children and never having children of her own. In fact, her entire adult life seems to have been defined by her love for a man named Bear (David Clennon). The problem, you see, is that Bear is white. In a pivotal flashback at the beginning, as young men prepare to go off to war (WWII) Carmel dares to cross the railroad tracks (a literal color line) to say goodbye to her man. Instead of coming to her defense, Bear ignores her, setting her up for some unspeakable retribution at the hands of several unhappy white men. Yet her love for him never dies and neither does his for her.

Flash forward 50 years and Carmel has died. At her request, Bear brings together her family. Her brother Helms (Billy Dee Williams), his ex-wife (Lesley Ann Warren), their daughter, Lucy (Melissa De Sousa) and her husband (Alec Newman). Then there is the daughter, Rosa (Zoë Saldana) that Helms had with his mistress Jenita (Rae Dawn Chong). Carmel also invites Rosa’s ex-boyfriend, Errol (Hill Harper) who might be interested in reconciling.

The movie was set in Huntsville, Alabama and it actually did a very good job of showcasing that city. I wish they had done more to showcase the talented cast they had on hand. There just wasn’t enough to the plot or these characters to move the story forward at a suitable pace.

There are all of these relationships but none of them are conflicted enough to drive any real conflict. Helms isn’t a great father but neither daughter seems to have more than a passing anger at him. Both the ex-wife and the ex-mistress still get along with him (in fact, he manages to work that Billy Dee charm on both of them!). We never know exactly what kept Carmel and Bear apart over the years. As society changed, you’d think they would have been able to get together at some point.

Basically, despite, its intentions, there just isn’t enough to Constellation to sustain a feature-length film. For that to happen, there would have needed to be a lot more tension or conflict to really incite some emotion and propel the characters forward.

The audience I saw it with complained of boredom. The sad thing is that when movies like this don’t do well, the Powers-That-Be in Hollywood, assume there is no interest in black dramas or non-Hood-related fare. There is, but sadly, this just wasn’t it.